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SERMONS 



DELIVERED ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, 



wun 



ADDRESSES. 



BY JOHN CODMAN, D. D 




BOSTON: 

PERKINS, MARVIN, & COMPANY 

1834. 



\ 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



Human Life is made up of occasions. It soon passes 
away like a dream or vision of the night. But the 
occasions, of which it is composed, remain in connection 
with the history of the times in which they occurred. 

The life of a clergyman, at the present clay, is more 
than ordinarily associated with occasional services. It is 
no longer that still and quiet, retired and studious course, 
which it was in the days of our fathers. The multiplica- 
tion of religious and benevolent associations increases the 
demand upon the time and labors of the minister of the 
gospel. But few, who sustain the sacred office, are 
excused from taking a part in these efforts, to plead the 
cause and to extend the influence of these institutions. 



VJ AJ»\ JRTISEMENT. 

Pram a Dumb r of occasional productions, both printed 
and in manuscript, the author has made this selection — 

nut with a view of burdening the public with another 
book, hut simply from a. wish to gratify the desire 
that has been expressed by some personal friends, to 
preserve in a volume those productions, which are scat- 
tered in pamphlets and the periodicals of the day, 

Dorchester, Oct. 1, 1834. 



CONTENTS 



SERMON I. 

THE GREAT THEME OF PREACHING. 

Delivered in Salem Street Church, Boston, at the Installation of 
Rev. George W. Blagden. Nov. 3, 1830, 9 

SERMON II. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER IN THE 

PULPIT. 

Delivered in Newbury, Mass., at the Ordination of the Rev. Leon- 
ard Withington. Oct. 31, 1816, 40 

SERMON III. 

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND 
THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

Delivered at the Dedication of the Meeting House of the Trinita- 
rian Church and Society in South Bridge water, Mass., and the 
Installation of their Pastor, Rev. Ebenezer Gay. Jan. 29, 1823, 67 



HI! CONTENT 

SERMON IV. 

Tin: BENEFIT 01 1:1 LIGI01 B INSTITUTIONS. 

1 1 .1 at the Dedication of the Meeting House in Wellington, 
tfaa Id , LO, L827, . 96 

SERMON V. 

MINISTERIAL * OURTESY. 

Delivered before the Convention of Congregational Ministers of 
M i—clwuotto, iii Brattle Street Church, Boston. May 2k 
1831 115 

SERMON VI. 

THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. 

I) .' (1 in the N Bonth Church, Boston, before the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery C omp a ny . Jane 5, 1820, 143 



SERMON VII. 



THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE TOOR. 

Delivered in the Old South Church, Boston, before the Society 
tor the Moral and Religions Instruction of the Poor. Oct. 17, 
l--'l 167 



SERMON VIII. 



THE CLAIMS OF THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 

I» ted m Park Street Church, Boston, before the Fatherless 

S . 'v. Oct l«>, 1830, 189 



contents; a 

SERMON l\ 

IMPORT U9CI Off BPIRl n \i. k\<>\\ LEDG1 . 

Delivered in the Rid church, Boston, beibre (he 
Propagating th- I the Indiana and otb i N arth 
America, N ■ L885j 

SERMON X. 

TUT. POLITICAL ASPECT OF THE WORLD, FAVORABLE TO 
THi: SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. 

Delivered at Dorchester, at the Annual Thanksgiving. Dec. 2, 
L830, 

SERMON XI. 

THE FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS. 

Delivered at Plymouth, Mass., in Commemoration of the Landing 
of the Pilgrims. Dec. 22, 1831, 257 

SERMON XII. 

REVIEW OF MINISTERIAL DUTY. 

Delivered at Dorchester, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the 
Author's Ordination. Dec. 7, 1S2S, 289 



ADDRESS. 

Delivered at Dorchester, on the Fiftieth Anniversary of American 
Independence. July 4, 1626, 315 

2 



X CONTEN'l 

ADDRESS. 

: it Hull, m I i cration of the Landing of the Dor- 
:lcrs. lose II. 1830 



ADDRESS. 

the Dofohe«tei Temperance Society. April 5, 
1838, 349 



SPEECH. 

Delivered at ■ Meeting of the Board of Overseers of Harvard Col- 

Feb.3,1831, 3G9 

SPEECH. 

Delivered at the Anniversary of the American Bible Society. 
M ... '.'. L833 393 

ADDRESS. 

Delivered at the Funeral of Gen. Stephen Badlam, senior deacon 
of the Second Church in Dorchester. Aug. 27, 1815, . . . . 404 

ADDRESS. 

Dtlivered at Mount Auburn, at the Interment of Mr. Henry B. 
MeLellan. Sept. 6, 1833, 419 



ADDRESS. 

Delivered at Braintrec, Mass., at the Funeral of Mrs. Harriet 

>rrs, consort of Rev. Richard S. Storrs. July 11, 1834, . . 427 



S E R M O JN S 



SERMON I. 



THE GREAT THEME OF PREACHING. 



2 cor. iv. 5. 



For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; 
and ourselves your servants for Jesus^ sake. 

The duties of the Christian ministry are many 
and various. They are sufficient to occupy all 
the time, to engross all the thoughts, to engage 
all the affections and to employ all the powers 
of those who are intrusted with its sacred func- 
tions. A consideration of all the obligations 
involved in the pastoral care, would open upon 
us a field too extensive for our limited time. 
We shall confine ourselves to a single, though a 
prominent part of the duties of the sacred office, 
2 



|(l i hi: GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

— thai of public preaching, the great instrument, 
thai has ever been used l>\ the Holy Spirit in the 
conversion of the world. For it hath pleased 

God, In the foolishness of preaching, to save 
them thai belie) e. 

\c\i to the greal Preacher of righteousness, 
there are no better and safer models for ministers 
of the gospel to imitate than the apostles, par- 
ticularly the apostle Paul. This truly great and 
holy man. this devoted and laborious servant of 
( 'hrist, w as eminently distinguished as a preacher. 
For strength of reasoning, for knowledge of the 
human heart, for commanding eloquence, his 
discourses are unrivalled. No man had clearer 
views of divine truth, and no one preached the 
gospel with greater fidelity or more success. 
lie was instant in season and out of season, 
lie labored more abundantly than any of his 
colleagues, lie did not hesitate to declare the 
whole counsel of (iod. He w as faithful unto 
death, and has long silUje received a crown of 
life that fadeth not away. Who then can be 
better qualified to teach ministers how to preach, 
than be, w ho was himself such an accomplished, 

powerful, and successful preacher? 

In the context the apostle attributes the want 
of success of the ministry to the inlluence of 



BfcRi 1 . Of PRE ACHING* 1 1 

tin 4 god of this World, and not to the doctrines 
preached by himself and bis associates* But if 
our gospel be hid, it is hid to them thai arc lost: 
in whom the god of this world hath blinded tin 4 
minds of them which believe not, lest the light 
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image 
of God, should shine unto them. For we preach 
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and 
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. In the 
antithetical language of the text, preaching 
ourselves is contrasted with preaching Christ. 

In order therefore rightly to comprehend the 
spirit of the contrast, we shall attempt to show, 

I. What is implied in preaching ourselves. 

II. What is implied in preaching Christ Jesus 
the Lord, — and 

III. The light in which preachers of the 
gospel ought to regard themselves — as the ser- 
vants of the church for Jesus' sake. 

To preach ourselves implies, 

First, that we preach our own speculations. 
There is a natural disposition in the human 
heart to rely more upon the results of human 
reasoning than upon the simple declarations of 
the word of God. The pride of intellect is too 
often a besetting sin of ministers of the gospel. 



12 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

Prom the nature of their profession, they arc 
often led to the investigation of subjects, that 
involve the most abstruse and metaphysical rfea- 

BOning. We do not intend, by this remark, to 
discourage metaphysical speculations in their 
proper place, which we would, with deference, 
beg leave to say, is in the study rather than the 
pulpit. Although it ma\ be desirable, in order 
to a well disciplined and informed mind, that 
a minister of the gospel should be a profound 
metaphysician, it is by no means necessary that 
he should endeavor to make his congregation 
adepts in the science of metaphysics by learned 
lectures on intellectual and moral philosophy; 
and much less necessary is it that he should 
perplex their understandings by attempting to 
systematize by human art, what God has wisely 
left unexplained in his holy word. This dis- 
position to reduce every thing to a system, is, in 
our apprehension, one of the evils of our times, 
and necessarily leads to that kind of preaching, 
which is calculated rather to defend a favorite 
hypothesis than to exhibit those plain, and whole- 
some, and vital truths which the Spirit of God 
delights to Mess in the awakening and conversion 
of sinners, h it wise, is it benevolent, while so 
many precious souls are perishing all around us 



9SR. 1. OF PREACHING. IS 

for want of the bread of life, for ministers to 
spent] their time in preaching the distinctions of 
the schools, in advocating or impugning some 
favorite or repulsive system of theology? Is not 
this preaching ourselves, and not Christ Jesus the 
Lord ? 

But secondly we remark, we preach ourselves 
when we exalt reason above revelation. This 
error has the same source with that which we 
have already considered — the pride of the human 
heart, although it leaps over the bounds which 
many, who preach their own speculations, sa- 
credly prescribe to themselves. The speculating 
or metaphysical preacher, though he greatly mis- 
judges in giving too great a prominence to the 
results of his own reasonings, yet bows with 
reverence to divine revelation. Not so the man, 
who exalts reason above revelation. Instead of 
submitting his reason to the standard of the 
divine will, as revealed in the word of God, he 
pertinaciously refuses his credence to that part 
of revelation which he presumes to consider as 
inconsistent with his reason. He preaches just 
so much of the Bible as his unsanctified reason 
approves. — Is not this preaching ourselves, and 
not Christ Jesus the Lord? 

To preach ourselves implies, thirdly, that we 



1 'I THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

preach with a view to display our talents and 
learning, and thus gratify our pride and vanity. 
That this should ever he the case with any — 
that any should he so lost to the fear of tiod as 
to enter the holy ministry from such unworthy 
motives, is indeed matter of deep humiliation 
and regret. V>m we have reason to fear that 
there are those who, in this humiliating sense, 
preach themselves, — and, painful as is the sup- 
position, it will appear the less surprising, when 
we reflect upon the depravity and weakness of 
human nature* and upon the temptations and 
facilities which the pulpit affords for self-display. 
Self-seeking and self-approbation are deeply root- 
ed in our depraved nature, and even in the gra- 
cious heart they are but partially subdued. It 
requires no ordinary share of the influences of 
the Holy Spirit to keep down this unhallowed 
temper in ministers of the gospel. The most 
earnest prayer, the most habitual and persevering 
watchfulness, are necessary on the part of the 
minister to keep self from occupying the place 
which his crucified Lord should hold in his 
ministrations* It will be continually rising and 
thrusting itself forward, and seeking its own 
instead of the glory of Christ. 

No place like the pulpit affords such facilities 



SER. 1. OF PRE ACHING. 1 5 



lor st 1 f-di^pla v. Not the bar, nor the balls of 
legislation. In those 1 places, indeed, though tin* 
orator is often listened to with breathless atten- 
tion, he is liable to interruption and contradiction. 

But in the pulpit, the sacred orator stands alone. 
His theme is the most engrossing that can pos- 
sibly engage the attention of human beings. He 
lias a field before him for the efforts of eloquence 
infinitely superior to any other. Heaven and 
hell, with all the glories of the one and the 
terrors of the other, offer their resources to the 
champion of eternal truth. His subject is of 
itself, enough to make him eloquent. If pos- 
sessed of popular talents and pleasing address — 
the pulpit orator will be followed by crow r ds, who 
will hang on the honied accents of his tongue, 
and delight to listen to one who plays well on an 
instrument. How powerful the temptation for 
the preacher, especially if young and ardent, to 
listen to the syren song of flattery, and to preach 
himself instead of Christ Jesus the Lord ! 

We remark fourthly, that we preach ourselves 
when we preach to build up a party. Party 
spirit, it is to be regretted, is too often to be 
found in those, from whose sacred character we 
should expect better things, — and nothing is more 
deeply to be lamented, than to see ministers of 



16 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

the gospel actuated by the narrow, contracted 
spirit of party. 

But what do we mean by party spirit in 
religion,? Not, as some would represent it, an 
ardent, strong, persevering attachment to the 
peculiar doctrines of the gospel. If this is party 
spirit, the more the better. If this is party spirit, 
then the goodly company of the apostles, and the 
holy army of martyrs, were deeply imbued with 
it. No, my friends, party spirit in religion, is, 
in our apprehension, a very different thing. It 
consists rather in an indifference to the great and 
leading doctrines of Christianity, and an undue 
attachment to rites and forms, and the outward 
ceremonial of religion. It consists more in an 
attempt to introduce a new system of faith, 
unknown to our fathers and our fathers' fathers, 
— than in honest and zealous efforts in contend- 
ing earnestly lor the faith once delivered to the 
Saints. 

Those, in our judgment, are most remote from 
;i party spirit in religion, whose zeal is directed 
to the essence and not to the forms of religion, 
who are ready to embrace in the widely ex- 
tended arms of their charity, Christians of every 
name and sect, who bear the image of their 
Master, who possess his spirit and imitate his 



SEB. 1. OF PJUE kCHING. 17 

example. Party spirit is a eery different thing* 
It is little, mean and grovelling. It looks not 
abroad on the great and multiplied and diversified 
interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, but confines 

its vision to the little narrow circle in which it 

moves. It labors to build up its own little ant- 
hill, and, if that is done, cares not for all the 
world besides. This is party spirit. How 
unlike that generous, expanded, and ardent zeal 
for the honor of God's truth and the success of 
his gospel which is so often branded by that 
opprobrious name ! 

To endeavor to build up one particular de- 
nomination of professing Christians, to the ex- 
clusion and injury of every other, is to preach 
ourselves and not Christ Jesus the Lord. 

We remark in the last place, under this di- 
vision of our subject, that we preach ourselves 
when we are actuated by no higher and purer 
motive, than a regard to worldly support. That 
those who preach the gospel should live by the 
gospel, is not only reasonable, but expressly 
provided for in the word of God. If those to 
whom they preach have been made partakers of 
their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister 
unto them in carnal things ; and no people, who 
have an enlightened view of their obligations to 
3 



(8 THE GREAT THEME BER. 1. 

the Christian ministry, will ever suffer those, 
who devote to them their time, their talents, 
and all their powers, to \\;uit the necessaries 
and comforts of life, that they may not only be 
without worldly care, but be able, through their 
bounty, to dd good and communicate, and to 
aid in the furtherance of the great objects of 
Christian charity. But, while it is the duty of 
the people to provide a competent and honorable 
support for their ministers, wo to that man, who 
is actuated by no higher and purer motive in 
entering the ministry, than to provide a com- 
fortable maintenance for himself and his family. 
The church has suffered deeply in every age, 
from the worldly inducements that have been 
held out to enter the sacred ministry. How 
many have taken upon themselves the solemn 
vows of ordination, and. with awful hypocrisy, 
professed to be moved thereunto by the Holy 
Ghost, from no better motive than to procure 
a living. Put me, I pray thee, into the priest r s 
office, that I may eat a piece of bread. From 
this source have proceeded those dreadful evils 
that have attended religious establishments from 
the days of Constantino to the present period. 
Blessed be God, in this free and happy land 
we have no established hierarchy, no orders of 



BER« 1. OF PItfiACHIM 19 

priesthood supported by law, no compulsion of 
tithes, to maintain in luxurious <;im> the younger 
sous of titled nobility, — but religion i> with us, 
as it ever should be, free as the air of our moun- 
tains, ami uncontrolled as the current of our 
streams. It asks not, it needs not, any thing 
from government, but respect and liberty to live 
under the overshadowing wing of constitutional 
law. But, notwithstanding inducements to enter 
the ministry from the unworthy motive of regard 
to filthy lucre are not so many and powerful with 
us, as in existing religious establishments, still 
there is danger in this way of preaching ourselves 
and not Christ Jesus the Lord. There are yet 
to be found among us those, who without any 
previous regard to personal piety, have been 
educated for the pulpit as others have been for 
the bar and the practice of medicine. Thus 
have the three learned professions, as they are 
sometimes denominated, been equally regarded 
as affording the means of support, and the pros- 
pect of distinction to the young aspirant of 
future eminence. This evil has been a very 
serious and alarming one. Men have in this way 
been introduced into the sacred office, amiable, 
indeed, it may be, in their dispositions, correct 
and moral in their outward deportment, of good 



20 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

talents and respectable acquirements, but, like 
the young man in the gospel, lacking one thing, 
and that, the one thing needful. In this way 

have men become blind leaders of the blind. 
But a happier and brighter day dawns upon the 

church. The essential prerequisite of conversion 
to God in those who would look forward to 
the Christian ministry, is more generally ac- 
knowledged, and a goodly number of young men 
are training up on this principle by our education 
societies and theological schools, for great and 
extensive usefulness in the church of Christ. 
The Lord, and not man, has given the word, 
and great will be the company of those that 
publish it. The generation of ministers that 
is now providing for the church, will, we 
trust, possess much of the spirit of the apostles, 
and preach not themselves, but Christ Jesus the 
Lord. 

II. We now proceed to the second division 
of our subject — to consider what is implied ill 
preaching Christ Jesus the Lord. And here, 
m\ friends, a boundless field opens upon us. To 
do justice to it in a single discourse is utterly 
impossible. We can only sketch a brief outline 
<>l the all-engrossing, all-important theme, which 



3ER. 1. OF PRE LCHING« 21 

should constitute the great subject of the preach- 
ing of every faithful minister of the gospel. It 
is emphatically and comprehensively expressed 
1)\ the apostle — Christ Jesus the Lord, the an- 
ointed Saviour, the Lord our righteousness. 

In arranging our thoughts on this part of the 
subject, it is obvious to remark, that preaching 
Christ Jesus the Lord implies, first, that we 
preach the need of a Saviour, by exhibiting the 
miserable condition of fallen man, his native 
depravity as the descendant of the apostate 
parents of our race — his own actual guilt as the 
violator of that law which is holy, and just, and 
good, and his consequent exposure to its awful 
penalty, which is eternal death. These doctrines 
must be plainly, and fully, and frequently brought 
to view. They must be urged home on the 
conscience, that, by the accompanying influences 
of the Spirit of God, the sinner may be made to 
feel the wretchedness of his condition, the ex- 
ceeding sinfulness of sin, and the extreme danger 
of his situation, and the absolute necessity of 
immediate repentance. 

Then will the preacher of Christ Jesus the 
Lord, be prepared in the second place — to 
unfold the wonderful plan of salvation by a 
Redeemer — to declare to the trembling child of 



!! THJE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

guill that God so loved the world as to give his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on 
him should not perish but have everlasting life — 
thai in the councils of eternity the covenant of 
peace was established between the Father and 
the Son, which secured the salvation of all who 
should exercise faith in the Saviour of the world. 
Ho will exhibit this wonderful scheme into which 
the angels desire to look, in all its varied bear- 
ings upon the condition and destinies of our 
race. 

But, thirdly, to preach Christ Jesus the Lord, 
implies that we preach the glories of his person 
and character. On this subject the faithful 
preachers of the gospel cannot be silent. On 
the contrary, it is a theme on which they will 
delight to dwell. They will never leave their 
hearers in doubt respecting their views of the 
person of Christ. They will not be ashamed of 
their Master, but openly assert and defend his 
essential divinity. Thus Paul preached Christ, 
as (iod manifest in the flesh — the same yes- 
it i day, to-day and forever. The divinity, or 
deity of the Lord Jesus Christ has, in all ages 
of the Christian church, been considered as an 
essential article of that faith which was once 
delivered to the saints. It is a doctrine which 



SER* 1. or PREACHING* 23 

our pious ancestors, the firsl settlers of New 
England, considered as infinitely important. It is 

a doctrine which forms an article in the creed 
of all the reformed churches. It is a doctrine 
which bv main good men is considered so inter- 
woven into the Christian system as to constitute 
its very essence. Take away the divinity of 
Christ, and on what can a trembling sinner de- 
pend — on the arm of a creature like himself? 
"I cannot find, 55 said the late Dr. Mason, "in 
the lively oracles, a single distinctive mark of 
deity, which is not applied without reserve or 
limitation to the only begotten Son. All things 
whatsoever the Father hath are his. Who is 
that mysterious Word, that was in the beginning 
with God? Who is the Alpha and the Omega, 
the beginning and the ending, the first and the 
last, the Almighty ? AVho is he that knows what 
is in man? Who is the Omnipresent, that has 
promised wherever two or three are gathered 
together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
them — the light of whose countenance is, at the 
same moment, the joy of heaven and the salva- 
tion of the earth? Who is encircled by the 
seraphims on high, and walks in the midst of the 
golden candlesticks? Who is in this assembly? 



24 PHB GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

Who ifl ID all the assemblies of his people, in 

( m r\ worshipping assembly, in every holy heart? 
Whose hands have stretched out the heavens and 
[aid the foundations of the earth? Who hath 

created all things in heaven and on earth, viable 

and invisible? Who is the governor of the na- 
tions? Whom is it the Father's Mill that all 
men should honor? Before whom do the devils 
tremble? Who raiseth the dead? AYho weighs 
in the balance the destinies of angels and of men? 
Shall I ask a response from heaven? Shall I 
summons the devils from their chains of dark- 
ness? The response from heaven sounds in my 
ears — reason approves — and the devils confess. 
This, O Christian, is none other than the great 
God our Saviour! Indeed, the doctrine of our 
Lord's divinity is not, as a fact, more interesting 
to our faith, than as a principle essential to our 
life. If he were not the true God, he could not 
he eternal life. In short, the divinity of Christ 
'in in the system of grace the sun, to which all its 
parts are subordinate, and all their stations refer, 
which hinds them in sacred concord, and imparts 
to them their radiance, life and vigor. Take 
from it this central luminary, and its glory is 
departed — its holy harmonies are broken. The 



9ER* 1. Of PRE \< m\<.. 26 

elements rush to chaos — the fight o£ salvation is 
extinguished forever. "* 

Bst to preaeh Christ Jesus the Lord, implies not 
oiil\ that we preach the glories of his person and 
character, but, fourthly, that we preach his con- 
descension in the assumption of our nature and his 
vicarious sufferings for our salvation. Important 
as the divinity and glories of the Saviour are in 
the scheme of Christianity, they would afford 
the sinner no hope, were they not associated with 
his humiliation, death and sufferings. Those, 
who would faithfully preach Christ Jesus the 
Lord, will not content themselves with preach- 
ing him as the mighty God, but as bone of our 
bone, and flesh of our flesh, as God and man 
mysteriously united, and thus constituting a suit- 
able mediator for our sinful race. An atonement 
holds not a less conspicuous and important place 
in the scheme of Christianity, than the divinity 
of Christ. If possible, it is a part of the gospel 
more interesting to sinful man than, any other, 
for it is the only ground of confidence, the only 
foundation, upon which a sinner can build his 
hope. Take away this, and you destroy the 
gospel. Rob me of this, and you deprive me of 

* Mason's Sermon on Messiah's Throne, delivered before the London 
Missionary Society. 

4 



26 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

my shelter from the storm — you shut me out 
Iron) in \ Strong tower, my city of refuge — you 
lake awaj my shield and my buckler, and you 
leave me exposed, helpless as a worm, to the 
just displeasure of Almighty God. Stay, bold 
innovator, stay thy cruel hand! Remove not the 
landmarks which our fathers have set. Take 
not away from the humble Christian his comfort 
in the belief of the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb 
of God. Deprive him not of that hope, which is 
as an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. 
Drive him not into the sea of skepticism, to be 
tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. 

Fifthly, preaching Christ implies, that we 
preach his resurrection, ascension, intercession 
and care of his church. The resurrection of 
Christ i> a doctrine of vital importance. As it 
i- SO generally received by all denominations of 
Christians, it is not so frequently insisted upon 
by the ministers of the gospel, but it is no less 
important on that account. It had a prominent 
place in the preaching of the apostles. So impor- 
tant did Paul consider it, that he says, If Christ 
be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your 
faith is also vain. The preacher of the cross will 
also point his hearers to their once crucified 
Lord, ascending up on high and leading captivity 



BER, 1. OF PREACHING. - 3 

captive, and interceding at the right hand of the 

Majesty on high for the church which be hath 

purchased with his own Mood. The intercession 
of Christ is one oi the most important and fruit- 
ful subjects upon which ministers can preach. 

Through the Saviour's intercession, all spiritual 
blessings ilow* to the church of God. His care 
of the church, his precious promises for its secu- 
rity and prosperity, will afford rich and abundant 
themes for the ambassadors of heaven. 

Sixthly, preaching Christ implies that we 
preach all the doctrines taught by him, and his 
apostles by virtue of his authority. Some of 
these leading doctrines have already passed under 
review; but there are many others which must 
not be overlooked — such as the purposes of God, 
regeneration by the Holy Spirit, justification by 
faith alone, the final perseverance of the saints, 
and the future and eternal retribution of the 
righteous and the wicked. Those doctrines, 
according to their relative importance, will be 
distinctly brought to view by those who preach 
Christ Jesus the Lord. 

We remark, in the last place, under this divi- 
sion of our subject, that preaching Christ implies 
that we preach all the duties contained in his 
word — and the spirit and temper with which they 



28 I Hi: CTBX \T THEME SER. 1. 

should be performed. Though mentioned last, 

it is by DO means the least important port of our 
subject. The faithful minister will never CCftSC 
to urge upon his people the vast importance of 
practical religion. Without this, all professions of 
faith, however correct in speculation — all preten- 
sions to religious experience, however an arm and 
glowing — will be vain. It is the practical Chris- 
tian, that can alone expect to receive the plaudit 
of his Judge ; Well done good and faithful servant, 
thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will 
make you ruler over many things, enter into 
the joy of your Lord. 

111. We how yet to consider the third leading 
sentiment in the text — which is, the light in 
which preachers of the gospel should regard 
themselves — as the servants of his people for 
Jesus' sake. They should, in the first place, 
entertain low and humbling ideas of themselves. 
While the) magnify their office, preachers of the 
gospel should never magnify themselves. Hu- 
mility, becoming to all Christians, is peculiarly 
so to ministers of the gospel. Few men are in 
greater danger of pride and vain-ulory. They 
are more exposed to Mattery than other men, 
— and they need a more than ordinary share of 



si;i;. 1. Of PRSACHMfQi 29 

divine grace to keep them from falltog. Tin \ 
should ever bear in mind, thai the) are bnt 
servants of the church — they arc as the apostle 
adds in the conclusion of the chapter from which 
the text is taken, but earthern teasels — alluding, 
probably, to the mean and vulgar instruments by 
which the fall of Jericho was effected. lathe 
great work of the salvation of men, in which God 
condescends to bless their instrumentality, they 
should ever he ready to give all the glory to him, 
that the excellency of the power may be of 
God. 

Secondly, they should be willing to spend and be 
spent in the service of the church. They should 
be ready to labor for her interests in any way, 
however humble, to which they may be called in 
the providence of God. They should be willing 
to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, and 
submit to the meanest offices for the promotion of 
the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. In this 
w r ay they will best imitate the example of their 
condescending Master, who took upon himself the 
form of a servant; and of the holy apostle, who 
though free from all men, yet made himself ser- 
vant of all that he might gain the more. But 

Thirdly, while ministers are ready to labor for 
the church and the meanest of her members, they 



30 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1 



should ever regard as their supreme motive — 
their attachment to the Saviour. They are their 
servants for Jesus* sake. While they are the 
servants of the church) the church is not their 
master — one is their master, even Christ. They 
are not accountable to the church, only so far as 
in common with other members they are amena- 
ble to her discipline, — but as ministers they are 
accountable only to the Lord Jesus Christ. It 
is for his sake that they are willing to labor, to 
Buffer, and die — and happy, thrice happy do they 
deem themselves, to be employed in the service 
of such a master. Nor will the master whom 
they serve, forget their humble efforts, but will 
own his faithful confessors before his Father and 
the holy angels. 

It is said of an old divine who was preaching 
before an assembly of ministers, that in order to 
quicken their regard to the principle, end, and 
motive, from which they acted, he pointed them 
to the last and awful day of judgment, and having 
introduced Christ the judge, he represented him 
;i^ calling his ministers to an account, examining 
how they had preached, and with what views they 
had undertaken and discharged the work of the 
ministry. ■ What did you preach for? I preached, 
Lord, that 1 might keep a good living that was 



SER. I. OF PREACHING. il 

left me by mv father, which, had I not entered 
into the ministry, would have been wholly lost to 
me and my numerous family. Christ says to him, 

stand by, thou hast had thy reward. The ques- 
tion is put to another. And what did you preach 

for ? He answered, Lord, I was applauded as a 
learned man, and I preached to keep up the 
reputation of an excellent orator and an ingenious 
preacher. Christ said to him likewise, stand by, 
thou hast had thy reward. The Judge then puts 
the question to a third. And what did you 
preach for ? Lord, says he, I neither aimed at 
the great things of this world, though I was 
thankful for the conveniences of life which thou 
gavest me, nor did I preach that I might gain the 
character of a wit, or of a man of talents, or of a 
fine scholar — but I preached in compassion to 
souls, and to please and honor thee — my design 
in preaching, Lord, was, that I might w 7 in souls 
to thy blessed majesty. Upon this the Judge 
called out, Room, men ; room, angels ; let this 
man come and sit with me on my throne ; he has 
owned and honored me on earth, and I will own 
and honor him through all the ages of eternity. 5 * 
Such are the rewards of those who preach not 
themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. 

* London Evangelical Magazine, 1797. 



82 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

From our subject we perceive, first, the 
importance of the preacher's duty. 

M 'Tia not a tause of small import 
The preacher'i care demands, 
Hut which might fill an angel's heart, 
And filled a Saviour's hand 

There never was a greater mistake than this — 
that the duty of the preacher of the gospel is light 
and easy. Little do they understand the nature 
and extent of his work, who cherish such an 
opinion. To resist the powerful temptations to 
preach themselves; which are continually pre- 
sented by that arch-deceiver, who, while he 
delights to harass all the people of God, directs 
his most envenomed rancor against the min- 
ister of the cross, is of itself enough to lead him 
to cry out, Who is sufficient for these things? 
But when we consider the magnitude, variety, 
and extent of the subjects involved in preaching 
Christ, we cannot, for a moment, suppose that a 
preacher's duty can be otherwise than laborious 
and difficult. \\ hat constant and painful prepara- 
tion is necessary to the conscientious minister 
Who WOOld faithfully discharge his duty, who de- 
sires to bring beatefl oil into the sanctuary, and 
not to offer to the Lord that which costs him 



SKRi 1. OF PREACBINCk 

Bothmg! — What diligence and care to ascertain 

the state of bis flock, that he may know how to 
give to each a portion in due season ! — What 

earnest cries 10 Clod lor grace to warm his cold 
heart, that ho may impart warmth to others ! — 
What bitter tears over his own barrenness and 
unfruitfulness — what sinkings of soul under the 
consideration that so few believe his report — that 
lie labors in vain and spends his strength for 
nought ! If this be ease and freedom from care 
and labor, then is the preacher's duty an easy 
task. Ah, little do they know the duties and 
responsibilities of the sacred office, who entertain 
such an opinion. But, though laborious and diffi- 
cult, let it not be thought that it is unpleasant 
and irksome, and without encouragement. No, 
it is the most delightful and honorable work in 
which it is possible for a human being to be en- 
gaged — and, with all its trials, difficulties, and 
discouragements, I would not exchange it for an 
empire and a throne. It is the presence and 
gracious aid of the Master whom he serves, that 
lightens the cares, sweetens the labors, and re- 
lieves the anxieties of the preacher of the cross. 
It is the same cheering voice, that comforted the 
desponding spirit of the apostle and animated the 
hearts of the primitive disciples, that sustains the 
5 



34 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

courage and quickens the zeal of the ministers of 
reconciliation — My grace shall be sufficient for 
thee, and my strength shall be made perfect in 
thy weakness — Lo, I am with you alway, even 
to the end of the world. 

Secondly, we may learn from our subject the 
necessit) ofpietj in ministers of the gosppl. 

Nothing but humble, ardent, deep-rooted, de- 
cided piety, will preserve us from preaching our- 
selves. The temptations to such preaching are 
irresistible to a graceless minister. How impor- 
tant is it then, that those who are intrusted with 
the holy ministry of reconciliation, should be 
deeply imbued with true piety! How can they 
teach others who are not themselves taught by 
the Spirit of God ? How can they preach Christ 
Jesus the Lord, who see no beauty in him that 
they should desire him — who have never been 
constrained by his matchless love to live not to 
themselves but to him who died for them and 
rose again. It is the grace of God alone, that 
can keep the preacher's eye off from himself and 
!i\ it upon his divine Lord and Master — that can 
stop his ear to the voice of flattery, and open it to 
the divine command, Go and preach the preach- 
ing that I bid thee — that can raise him above 
worldly motives, and lead him to entire self- 



3ER. 1. 01' PREACHING. 36 

devotion in his Master's service. It is true pietj 
alone thai can preserve the ministers al the altar 
from preaching themselves, and enable them to 
preach Christ Jesus the Lord. 

Lastly, \\ e may learn from our subject the 
duty of the people towards their ministers. 

If the duty of ministers is as broad and exten- 
sive as we have seen it to be, then it is obvious 
that correspondent obligations rest upon their 
bearers. While ministers preach Christ Jesus 
the Lord, the people should be careful to receive 
him and to walk in him, rooted and built up 
in him, and stablished in the faith as they have 
been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 
While ministers are ready to acknowledge them- 
selves their servants for Jesus' sake, they should 
remember that this acknowledgment gives them no 
right to exercise lordship over them, and to treat 
them either with superciliousness or contempt. 
On the contrary, they should esteem them highly 
in love for their work's sake — they should en- 
deavor to manifest their attachment to them 
by a variety of soothing acts of kindness, to 
lighten the duties of their office by attending con- 
stantly and prayerfully upon their ministrations, 
that they may sustain them under their many 
painful and arduous trials, and add to the bright- 



36 Tin GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

ncss of their crown of rejoicing in the day of the 
Lord. 

While the subject which has occupied our 
attention this morning, is interesting to all who 
sustain the ministerial office, it is peculiarly so to 
you. my brother, who, in the providence of God, 
have been called to the exercise of your ministry 
in this place. Christian ministers, we have seen, 
are the servants of the church for Jesus' sake, 
and therefore the church has a rightful claim to 
their services. In what part of the vineyard they 
may be most useful, it is for the great Head of the 
church to decide. 

I bear you record, my beloved brother, that it 
was not without long and patient deliberation, nor 
without urgent and repeated solicitation, nor with- 
out wise and judicious counsel, nor without earnest 
and persevering prayer for light from heaven, that 
you consented that the ties which bound you to 
the little ilock you had been so happily instru- 
mental in gathering from the world, should be 
sundered, with a view to your entering upon a 
more enlarged and extensive held of usefulness. 
15 ut ministers are not their own, nor are they the 
property of any particular congregation. They 
are the servants of the church for Jesus' sake ; 
and wherever he points by the finger of his provi- 



BER. 1. OF PREACHING* 57 

dence, there they are bound to gOj to labor and 
die in his service. My dear brother, if you had 
consulted your own ease and Belfish gratification, 

you would not have relinquished the retirement 

of the country for the bustle, the cares, tin; temp- 
tations, and the responsibilities of the city. But 
God has ordered your lot, lie has appointed your 
field of labor, and you have nothing to do but to 
go forward in his strength, relying upon his grace 
to sustain you under the peculiarities of your new 
situation. You are called to labor in that section 
of the city, which is dear to the hearts of those 
who love the doctrines of the Puritans, from be- 
ing the field in which those holy men of God, 
Increase and Cotton Mather, of the Congrega- 
tional church, and, in later years, Stillman and 
Baldwin of the Baptist church, sowed the seed 
of divine truth. 

" That seed, though buried long in dust, 
Shall not deceive our hope, 
The precious grain can ne'er be lost, 
For grace ensures the crop." 

May this part of our city continue to be dis- 
tinguished for attachment to evangelical truth, 
and may you, my brother, be the honored instru- 
ment of reviving its purity, and strengthening its 



38 rHE GREAT THEME SER. 1. 

influence, and, after having turned many to right- 
eousness, may you shine as the brightness of the 
firmament and as the stars forever and ever. 

This church and society will receive our con- 
gratulations on the happy re-settlement of the 
gospel ministry. The friends of evangelical re- 
ligion have, from its first organization, regarded 
this church with deep and tender interest. They 
have sympathized in the loss they sustained in 
the removal of their late pastor, while they have 
rejoiced in his restoration to health, and in his 
subsequent success in that cause, which from its 
commencement has been so dear to his own heart, 
and for the promotion of which he is so eminently 
qualified. May your fondest expectations be 
fully realized in the choice of our young brother 
to succeed him in the pastoral office, and may 
the great Head of the church lengthen your cords 
and strengthen your stakes, and on that day 
when the Lord shall count and write up his 
people, may it be said of a multitude of precious 
souls, this and that man was born here. 

To this great assembly, we have only to say in 
conclusion, that, if the gospel which is preached 
to them is not a savor of life unto life, it will be 
a Bavor of death unto death. Solemn and awful, 
my beloved hearers, are your responsibilities ! 



U, 1. OF PREACHING. 39 

() let it doI be your condemnation that light has 
come into the world, but thai you love darkness 
rather than light because your deeds are evil. 
For it' our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that 

are lost ; in whom the god of this world hath 
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest 
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is 
the image of God, should shine unto them. For 
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the 
Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' 
sake. 



40 



SERMON II. 



THE [IMPORTANCE OF AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER 
IN THE PULPIT. 



LPHESIANS iv. 15. 

I 

Speaking the truth in love. 

Few scenes are calculated more deeply to 
impress the mind and to affect the heart, than 
that which we are this day called to witness. 

We are assembled together to attend, not an 
ephemera] transaction, which will be forgotten 
as soon as past, and by the result of which no 
one will be sensibly affected, but to unite in a 
service, inexpressibly interesting and infinitely 
important — a service whose interest is in no 
degree lessened by its frequent recurrence in our 
churches, but which is ever attended with pecu- 



3ER. 2. \n AFFECTIONATE MANNER^ 41 

liar solemnity, and productive of consequences 
momentous and lasting ;is eternity. 

Who is not impressed with anxious solicitude 
in beholding a young man entering upon the 
arduous and responsible work of the gospel 
ministry ? Who does not tremble for him in 
view of the difficulties, trials and temptations 
to which he must be exposed? What bosom 
dors not heave for the young soldier, when about 
to gird oil his armor, and for the first time to 
enter the field of battle? What Christian will 
not breathe the fervent prayer that the grace of 
God may be sufficient for him, and that he may 
ever enjoy the presence of that Saviour who has 
promised to be with his ministers even unto the 
end of the w r orld ? 

As it devolves upon me from the relation which 
1 sustain to the pastor elect, to address this large 
and respectable audience, I would solicit your 
candor and your prayers, while I attempt, with a 
humble reliance on divine aid, to direct your 
attention to a subject, adapted to the occasion 
upon which we have assembled. 

The words of the text form a part of the 
apostle's exhortation to Christian unity. The 
sentiment which they obviously contain is this, 
6 



42 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

That tin* truth should be maintained with a 
spirit of love. 

That the words Speaking the truth, are thus to 
be understood, and not to be considered, merely, 
as expressing sincerity, according to some trans- 
lations) is obvious from their connection with the 
preceding \er>e. That we henceforth, says the 
apostle, be no more children, tossed to and fro, 
and carried about with every wind of doctrine — 
but speaking, or maintaining, the truth in love. 
Here it is obvious that by the truth, the apostle 
means true doctrine as opposed to false, and ex- 
horts the Ephesians to preserve the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace, by maintaining or 
defending the truth with a spirit of love or 
charity, that, thus, they may grow up unto him 
in all things, which is the head, even Christ. If 
this is the duty of Christians in general, surely 
it is the duty of those, who minister in holy 
things, and who are set for the defence of the 
gospel. 

There arc many and different ways in which 
ministers may defend and maintain the truth; 
but we shall confine ourselves chiefly to the con- 
sideration of the usual and ordinary method, that 
of public preaching: speaking the truth in love. 



ft. 2. AN UVECTIONATI MANNER, 13 

Wiih this application of the text, om subject 
naturally divides itself into two parts. 
We are led to observes 

I. That it is the duty of ministers to preach 

the Truth. 

II. That it is their duty to preach it in Love. 

I. It is the duty of ministers to preach the 
Truth. 

The memorable question of Pilate, naturally 
presents itself in the commencement of this part 
of our subject. What is truth? said the Roman 
governor to his illustrious prisoner. To this 
highly important question the Son of God re- 
turned no answer. His silence on a subject of 
such vast importance, however singular it may 
appear, was doubtless the dictate of infinite 
wisdom. He well knew the motive in which 
the question originated. Had Pilate possessed 
a sincere and ardent desire to know the truth, 
we cannot suppose that He, who came into the 
world to bear witness of the truth, w r ould have 
treated his humble request with cold neglect. 
But if, as we have reason to think, this wicked 
judge was actuated by nothing more than a vain 
and idle curiosity, which was not of itself suffi- 
ciently strong to prompt the renewal of his 



I 'l importance Off SER. J. 

question) we cannot be surprised that our Lord, 
who was acquainted with his motives, should, at 
a time and under circumstances so peculiarly 
trying, maintain a dignified reserve. Neither are 
we tO conclude from the silence of the Saviour 

that any great or insurmountable difficulty attends 
the solution of Pilate's question. Although, for 
the best reasons, our Lord did not reply to the 
governor of the Jews, yet he hath abundantly 
answered this question on other occasions. It 
is sufficient for our purpose, to refer you to one 
of Christ's petitions in his intercessory prayer. 
Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is 
truth. By the 4 truth, then, which it is the duty 
of ministers to preach, we mean, the doctrines 
contained in the word of God. 

We are aware that with respect to these, 
different opinions are entertained. But these 
opinions, different and opposite as they are, do 
not affect the truth itself, nor lessen the obliga- 
tions of ministers faithfully to preach it. It is 
no argument against the reality of divine truth, 
that weak, erring and sinful men are divided in 
their opinions respecting the doctrines, which 
Constitute its essence. Such a diversity of sen- 
timent is to be expected in a world, where among 
tin; lew, who search for truth, more rely upon 



SSR« 2. an \ i i n< i ion \ 11: MANNER. 15 

their own strength, than the teaching of the 

Spirit o[ ( rod. 

But the minister of Jesus musi preach what 
he bonestly believes to be the truth of. God, after 
baring diligently and prayeifullj examined the 
scriptures Tor himself, and formed his creed, not 

from the confessions and declarations of unin- 
spired men, but from the sacred volume alone. 
It is true be may be in an error, and teach for 
doctrines the commandments of men; but this is 
not likely to be the case, if he possesses a humble 
spirit, and is sincerely desirous to be taught the 
truth, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, 
but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. 
To all who do the will of God, our Lord hath 
promised that they shall know the doctrine, 
whether it be of God. 

By the truth, as it is emphatically called in 
many parts of scripture, is usually intended the 
glorious and wonderful plan of salvation by a 
Redeemer. In this sense it is considered as a 
system embracing a variety of interesting and 
important truths, which are denominated, by way 
of distinction and eminence, the truth. 

The truth, which it is the duty of ministers to 
preach, is one harmonious whole. Commencing 
with the fall of man, and even looking back to 



46 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

the purposes of God before the apostacy, it ex- 
tends to the completion of the wonderful plan of 
redemption, to the final and eternal retribution 
of our fallen race — to this eventful day, when 
the Son, having finished his mediatorial work, 
having brought many sons to glory, and justified 
the sentence of Jehovah in the punishment of the 
finally impenitent — shall deliver up the kingdom 
to Cod, even the Father, that God may be all in 
all. 

All the doctrines of religion, which are in- 
cluded in this extensive view, constitute that 
truth, which it is the duty of every faithful 
minister to preach. It is perhaps unnecessary 
to enumerate the specific truths of which this 
summary is composed. Should they however 
be omitted in this place, the preacher might be 
charged with a want of fidelity and plainness. 
Let it then be understood, that in preaching the 
truth to his people, a minister should preach all 
those individual doctrines, which constitute the 
gospel of the grace of God. Such as the fall of 
man, and the consequent depravity, corruption 
and condemnation of his posterity — the promise, 
advent, and work of a Saviour — his divinity and 
atonement — the necessity of divine inlluences to 
renew and sanctify the heart — the doctrine of 



BER. 2. an AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 1 7 

justification by faith — the everlasting happiness 
of the righteous, and the eternal punishment of 
the wicke<)< 

Other truths, intimately connected with these, 
but, for the sake of brevity, necessarily omitted, 

the faithful minister of Jesus will not neglect to 
speak to his people according to their relative 
and comparative importance. 

The man, who rightly divides the truth, will 
give a prominent place in his preaching to those 
truths, which more immediately concern the sal- 
vation of the soul. Instead of dwelling upon 
points of metaphysical subtlety, which have little 
or no influence on the Christian temper and prac- 
tice, he will select those subjects, the knowledge 
of which is essential to salvation. The two great 
truths which the minister of Jesus will labor to 
impress upon the minds of his hearers, are the 
miserable condition of sinners, and the ability 
and readiness of an almighty Saviour, to save to 
the uttermost all who come unto God by him. 
To omit, or but occasionally to notice, these 
great and fundamental truths, is to lose sight of 
the object of the Christian ministry. 

Ministers sustain the honorable and responsible 
office of ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The design of their embassy is to beseech sinners 



j:; IMPORTANCE OK SER. 2, 

in Christ's stead, to l)c reconciled to God. To 
fulfil in any degree the object of their mission, 
they must labor to convince men that they are 
])\ nature opposed to God, that they bave violated 
his righteous laws, and that they are exposed to 
its penalty. They cannot therefore discharge 
their duty to their Sovereign, with a good con- 
science, without preaching, in the clearest and 
most decided manner, the truth of human de- 
pravity. They that are whole need not a physi- 
cian, but they that are sick. In vain shall we 
attempt to persuade men to apply to the most 
able and successful physician, while they imagine 
themselves to be in the enjoyment of perfect 
health. We must first convince them of their 
disease, before we can with any hope of success, 
prescribe the remedy. 

With this truth of human depravity, the min- 
ister of Jesus will not fail to hold up to his people 
this faithful saying, that Chrfet Jesus came into 
the world to save the chief of sinners. On this 
great truth, the servant of Christ will love to 
dwell. He will not be satisfied with introducing 
it occasionally or slightly into his sermons; he 
will not be content with distant and remote 
allusions to the Saviour; but will nobly resolve 
to know nothing among his people save Jesus 



SER. J. \\ .M'rr.cTiown: MANNER* 48 

Christ and him crucified. This U t Ik* truth 
which he will speak to bis people, not onlv in 
the sacred desk, but in the social circle, in the 
pastoral visit, in the chamber of sickness, and 
around the bed ol death. 

But, though these important and essential 
truths claim the first attention of the Christian 
minister, we would not be understood that to 
these he should be confined. There are other 
parts in the great system of truth, which are not 
to be disregarded* Truth is a beautiful fabric. 
Its proportions are admirable; every part is of 
exquisite workmanship — and the whole bears the 
stamp of its divine original. It is not sufficient 
to direct the attention of the pilgrim to the 
front of the temple, where stands the door of 
salvation: but the minister of Jesus will exhibit 
the whole of the sacred edifice, and will not 
conceal from the view of his people those parts, 
the uses of which he cannot fully comprehend, 
and the construction of which he cannot satis- 
factorily explain. The faithful minister will 
preach the whole truth. All scripture is profit- 
able; though some parts of it relate more im- 
mediately to salvation than others. All the 
revealed will of God, should be faithfully made 
known by his servants. If God hath declared 
7 



50 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

that there is a remnant, according to the election 
of grace — this truth must be preached, though 
the preacher may not he able to explain its 
consistency with the free agency of man. If 
human agency is expressly acknowledged, and 
made the basis of the reasonings and exhortations 
of the gospel — then the freedom of man must be 
maintained, however difficult it is to reconcile it 
with the decrees of God. If the scriptures 
teach us that there is a mysterious union and 
equality of the Father. Son and Holy Ghost in 
one Godhead — we must not be ashamed nor afraid 
to acknowledge and preach the truth, though by 
such an acknowledgment we may be exposed 
to the charge of imbecility, bigotry, and fanati- 
cism. Ministers must preach the 4 truth, however 
unpleasant to the unrenewed part of their hearers. 
Some of the doctrines of the gospel are, and 
always will he. offensive to the natural heart. 
Though the truth may he preached in love, yet 
unregenerate men w ill not and cannot love the 
truth. Though we speak with the tongues of 
men and angels, we cannot remove their di>like 
to tiie truth, till God removes the opposition of 
their hearts by the influence of the Holy Spirit. 

Before we leave this part of our subject, let us 
consider for a moment the solemn obligations 



3HU 2. an AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 51 

ministers are under to preach the truth; and the 
encouragements thej have to perform this part of 
their dutj . 

Ministers are under the most solemn obligations 

to preach the truth. 

The vows o( God are upon them. They are 
sent by God to declare unto men the way of sal- 
vation. They watch for souls as they who must 
give an account. Son of man, says the Lord to 
Ezekiel, I have made thee a watchman unto the 
house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my 
mouth, and give them warning from me. When 
I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and 
thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to 
warn the wicked from his wicked way to save 
his life, the same wicked man shall die in his 
iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine 
hand. — How awfully solemn and impressive is 
this charge ! Ministers are not at liberty to alter, 
to add to, or take from the message they have 
received from Jehovah. The Lord's command 
to Jonah may be applied to all his ministers. Go 
and preach the preaching that I bid thee. With 
the same propriety may they listen to the direc- 
tion given to the prophet Jeremiah. Thus saith 
the Lord, Stand in the courts of the Lord's 
house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah 



52 impokt \nci: or SER. 2, 

which come to worship in the Lord's house all 
the woids that I command thee to speak unto 
them, diminish not a word. Such are the obliga- 
tions of ministers to preach the truth, that they 
cannot neglect to do it without exposing them- 
selves to the just, displeasure of their divine 
Master, from whom they have received their 
commission. \\ ith what confusion w ill the un- 
faithful pastor appear at the bar of God ! Of 
what avail will be the excuses which he will then 
offer to justify his neglect of duty? The blood 
of souls who have perished through his neglect, 
will be found in his skirts, and will cry aloud for 
vengeance* Ma\ God avert from each of us, my 
brethren, his awful doom ! 

Solemn are the obligations of ministers to 
preach the truth: Great also is their encourage- 
ment to perform this part of their duty. 

The great J lead of the church has promised to 
be with his ministers even unto the end of the 
world. He will strengthen them under all their 
labors, and support them under all their trials. 
He will stand by his faithful servants when they 
declare the truth, and make them to all their 
enemies an iron pillar and brazen walls, and they 

shall fight against them but shall not prevail 
against them. 



k. 2. \\ \ i f I . ( I io.\ \ u: M INNER. 63 

The truth) when preached in it^ purity, is the 
great instrument which God delights to bless io 
the conversion ol sinners and the edification of 
saints. The correctness of this remark U at- 
tested by general experience and observation. 
How often are those ministers, who for the Mike 
of accommodating their preaching to the corrupt 
ta^te of the world, are induced to withhold or to 
mutilate some of the truths of the gospel, listened 
to with cold indifference even by those whom 
the) aim to please, and forsaken by others who 
cannot live without the constant nourishment of 
divine truth ; while the faithful servant of Jesus, 
who takes his life in his hand, and unreservedly 
declares all his Master's will, is heard with atten- 
tion, even by those who do not love the truth, 
and obtains a strong and lasting interest in the 
affections and prayers of the friends of God, who, 
by his instrumentality, are built up in the faith of 
the gospel. 

Though his labors may not always be attended 
with immediate success, he is encouraged to hope 
that the truth, which it is the object of his life to 
preach, may have its effect when he sleeps in the 
dust. But, should his fondest expectations be 
disappointed — should he labor in vain and spend 
his strength for naught — still he will have the 



54 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

testimony of his conscience, that he has been 

faithful to God and the souls of his people; and 
may say with the prophet. Though Israel be not 
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of 

the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 
Having thus endeavored to show that it is the 

duty of ministers to preach the truth, we proceed 
to consider the manner and spirit with which the 
truth should be maintained. 

II. It is the duty of ministers to preach the 
truth in Love. 

Important and necessary as it is to preach the 
truth, it will be of comparatively little avail, un- 
less it is spoken in love. We trust we shall not 
be thought to undervalue the truth itself, nor to 
give too great importance to the power of per- 
suasion, if we assert, that the success with which 
the truth is attended, depends much on the spirit 
with which it is delivered. We are fully sensible 
that Paul may plant and Apollos may water in 
vain, if God withholds the increase. At the 
same time that we admit that the happy effects 
produced by the preaching of the truth, are to be 
attributed to the energy of the Holy Ghost as the 
cause, may they not in a great measure be in- 
creased or lessened according to the spirit with 



SER. 2. ax AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 55 

which the truth i^ maintained? We know that, 
in blessing bis truth, God does not depart from 

his usual mode of operation upon the human 
mind; and we need not he reminded, that in 
receiving or rejecting any truth, mankind are 
greatly influenced by the manner and spirit with 
which it is presented. 

If this observation is correct with regard to 
truth in general, it is emphatically so as respects 
religious truth in particular. In the hearts of all 
unregenerate men, there exists a deep-rooted 
and determined prejudice against divine truth. 
Although this prejudice cannot he wholly re- 
moved but by the transforming influences of the 
Spirit of God, is it not often greatly increased by 
the intemperate, dogmatical, harsh or uncharita- 
ble spirit and manner of those, whose duty it is 
to exhibit the truth of God to their fellow men? 
Are not many hardened in their unbelief, and 
strengthened in their prejudices, by, to say the 
least, an injudicious mode of treating and deliver- 
ing the truths of the gospel? And arc not many, 
who by an opposite method would be steeled 
against the truth, induced to give it their atten- 
tion and to consider its claims by the meek and 
charitable temper, the mild and tender manner, 
the gentle and persuasive address of its ad- 
vocates? 



56 IMPORTANCE OK SER. % 

It gives pa pain to entertain the thought, for a 
moment, that there are any of the ministers of 
the meek and lowly Jesus, especially of those 
who preach the truth, who so far forget the spirit 
of their Master, as not to speak tin 4 truth in lore. 

But do not some, from an anxious desire to ex- 
hibit the plain and naked truth, forget to clothe 
it with the garment of love, with which it should 
ever be adorned? To preach the truth is, as we 
have already attempted to show, infinitely impor- 
tant, but to preach it in a spirit of love, is not 

less SO. 

Iii preaching the truth, wc should be careful 
not to lay ourselves open to the application of the 
Saviour's rebuke to his disciples. Ye know not 
what manner of spirit ye are of. We shall do 
Well to remember that the truth, the wisdom, 
which eometh from above, though first pure, is 
also peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, 
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality 
and without hypocrisy. And that the fruit of 
righteousness is sown in peace of them that 
make peace. Let us not forget that the cause of 
Christ, which we are anxious to defend and 
promote, ma\ be injured as much by a departure 
from a Christian spirit, as by a defection from the 
truth. 



3ER, & w \nr.( i ion \ri: H INNER. 51 

•• It is to be hoped, 91 says \h. Doddridge, in 
commenting upon the words of the text, M that no 

render. rspeeiallv none of tile SK'li'd older, will 

fail to observe what the apostle here so plainlj 

asserts, namely, that it was the design of the 

ministrj to preserve peace and charity, as well 
as orthodoxy, regularity, and discipline, in the 
church." 

'Hie minister of Jesus, who speaks the truth in 
love, will carefully avoid every thing that is cal- 
culated unnecessarily to wound and irritate the 
feelings of his people. When called to reprove, 
it will be with the affection of a father, and not 
with the severity of a master. While exhibiting 
what he believes to be the truth of God, he will 
neither claim nor exercise dominion over the faith 
of others. To the law and to the testimony he 
will cheerfully appeal, as the only infallible stan- 
dard of faith and practice. In the delivery of 
truth, he will study to be tender and affectionate, 
endeavoring to win souls to Christ: he will seek 
to find out acceptable words. While on some 
occasions he may appear to the enemies of God 
to be a son of thunder, he will take more satis- 
faction, when duty will allow him, to administer 
consolation to the humble penitent. His manner 
will not be confident and boisterous, but mild 
8 



58 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

and unassuming. In the beautifully figurative 
language of scripture, his doctrine will drop as 
the rain, and his speech distil like the dew. 
Were it necessary to propose examples for the 

minister of the gospel to imitate, we might point 
him to the great Preacher of righteousness. He 
did not strive and cry, neither did any man hear 
his voice in the street. A bruised reed did he not 
break, and the smoking flax did he not quench. 
When addressing the hypocritical Scribes and 
Pharisees, our Lord expressed himself in language 
strong and forcible, and even indignant ; but, in 
his invitations to sinners to accept of his mercy, 
his addresses are full of tenderness and affection. 
The manner of Jesus was peculiarly mild and 
engaging, as well as impressive and commanding. 
All bore him witness and wondered at the gra- 
cious words which proceeded out of his mouth. 
How strong and tender were his emotions, when 
beholding Jerusalem, the city which had so basely 
rejected him, and were soon to imbrue their hands 
in his blood, he wept over it and exclaimed — O 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the pro- 
phets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, 
how often would I have gathered thy children 
together 9 even as a hen gathereth her chickens 
under her wings, but ye would not! 



SER. 2. AN AFFECTIONATE M \NNER. 59 

Did our time permit) we might dwell on the 
example of Paul the apostle. His epistles are 

full of truth, and they are written with do com- 
mon share of that spirit of love and charity, of 
tenderness and affection, which we would recom- 
mend. So also are the writings of the venerable 

John, the beloved disciple, who to the last hour 
of his life, ceased not to repeat, when lie could 
say nothing more, Little children love one an- 
other. 

If the Christian minister possesses in any de- 
gree the spirit of his divine Master and his 
apostles, love will be the governing principle of 
all his conduct, and particularly of that part of it, 
which relates to the discharge of ministerial duty. 
In preaching the truth, he will be influenced by 
a principle of love to his Saviour. The love of 
Christ will constrain him to deliver the whole of 
his message, to be instant in season and out of 
season, in attempting to save the souls for whom 
Christ died. Penetrated with the love of Jesus, 
he will intreat and beseech sinners to be recon- 
ciled to him — he will not count his life dear unto 
himself, so that he may finish his course with 
joy, and the ministry which he has received of 
the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace 
of God. 



GO IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

The minister of Christ, in preaching the truth, 
will not only be influenced by a principle of love 

to his Master, but of love to the truth itself. If 
he lias himself tasted that the Lord is gracious, 
and been brought to the knowledge of the truth 
a^ it is in Jesus, he will preach it for its own 
sake. Having felt its power, he will be anxious 
that Others also should experience it. Sensible 
that it is the principal instrument used by God in 
the renewal and sanctification of his people, that 
it is the power of God and the wisdom of God 
unto salvation, he will not cease to declare it. 

But another and not a trifling motive to induce 
the gospel minister to speak the truth to his 
people, is his love to their souls. When he con- 
siders that without the know ledge and experience 
of gospel truth they must perish forever, lie can- 
not hesitate for a moment as to his path of duty. 
If he loves his people, he will not trifle with 
their salvation. He cannot see them standing 
on the brink of a precipice, and remain unmoved ; 
lie cannot behold them crowding the broad road 
that leadcth to destruction, and not endea\or to 
direct them to the narrow path that leadeth unto 
life. Though at the hazard of being counted 
their enemy, he must and he will tell them the 
truth. He must warn them of their danger — he 



• \FFFXTION \TK MANN- 

mu^ w then their real dl — most 

plainly d< to then) the awful and inevitable 

- of impeota and mil If 

lores 1 uiiiot conceal from them tl. 

important truths. But. while he feels him 
obliged by every consideration to be faithful unto 
hi- peopl< . will endeavor to comply with the 
spirit of' the text, and to speak the truth iu love. 

In reviewing our subject, we cannot but re- 
I on the difficulties attendant on a faithful 
disehargc of ministerial duty. To speak the 
truth in love, is no easy task. Many are the 
temptations to which ministers are exposed to 
withhold part of the truth, or so to pollute it with 
error as to recommend it to the depraved ta-te 
of the world. •Many too are the excitements 
to a different temper and spirit from that enjoined 
in the text. It i- indeed a hard lesson, but one 
must learn and practice, so far to govern 
our own spirits is, in the midst of opposition to 
the truth, to continue to speak the truth in love. 

What need, my reverend fathers and brethren, 
have we to pray that the grace of God may be 
sufficient for us. and that his strength may be 
made perfect in our weakn ss. 

This subject, though interesting to all, is pecu- 



62 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

liarlv so to you, my dear brother, who are now 
about to be solemnly separated to the work of the 
Lord in this part of his vineyard. From what I 
know of your views of gospel truth, I cannot 
doubt but you will endeavor to be faithful to the 
souls of this people. Your religious opinions you 
have not hastily formed, nor have you hesitated 
frankly and openly to avow them. While you 
steadfastly adhere to the peculiarities of our 
holy faith, suffer me to urge upon you the great 
importance of speaking the truth in love. This 
people have manifested towards you an unusual 
warmth of attachment. They deservedly claim 
from you a return of affection, and they will not 
claim it in vain. They will ever lie near your 
heart — they will ever be remembered in your 
prayers. You will be gentle among them ; as a 
nurse cherisheth her children, so, being affection- 
ate ly desirous of them, you will be willing to 
impart to them, not the gospel of God only, but 
also your own soul, because they are dear unto 
you. You are called, by the providence of God, 
to fill a station in his church, which has been 
occupied by men distinguished in their day and 
generation. By a faithful discharge of ministe- 
rial duty, animated by a spirit of love and ten- 
derness, by a diligent improvement of you? time, 



BER. 2. UN UTFECTIONATE MANNER. 63 

and the talents which God has bestowed upon 
you, h\ a constanl and unremitting attention to 
the temporal and spiritual happiness of the people 
of jour charge, and b\ a life of unspotted purity 
and extensive usefulness, you will, 1 trust, mas- 
nifv your office, retain and confirm the affections 
of your people, and prove a blessing to the church 
and to the world. 

I need not assure you, my brother, of the in- 
terest I take in the solemnities of this occasion. 
You know the affectionate regards I have always 
entertained toward you, and you cannot doubt of 
the sincerity of my wishes and prayers for your 
future comfort and usefulness. As a member of 
the church committed to my charge, and sustain- 
ing endearing relations to several of its members, 
I have watched with an interest, which none but 
a pastor and a friend can feel, every step in your 
progress towards that work in which you are 
now to be engaged. From my first acquaintance 
with you, I have indulged the most pleasing ex- 
pectations of your usefulness in the church. Well 
do I remember when these fond hopes were 
nearly blasted, when attacked by a disease, 
which appeared to baffle all medical skill, you 
were interrupted in the pursuit of your studies, 
and your expectations of entering the profession 



64 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. 

of vonr choice Dearly destroyed. But, my 
brother, fervent prayer was made without ceas- 
ing of the church unto God for you. The prayer 
was heard, and is this day mosl fully answered. 
To God's name be all the praise. May the life 
which has been thus wonderfully spared, he this 
day renewedly devoted to the service of God in 
the gospel of his Son. May i be permitted on 
this occasion, to use the language of Paul to 
Timothy his dearly beloved son — and say with 
him — When I eall to remembrance the unfeigned 
faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy 
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and 
I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I 
put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the 
gift of God, which is in thee. — My dear brother, 
to the grace of God I commend you. May you 
long live with this people in uninterrupted peace 
and harmony, speaking to them the truth in love; 
and, after having turned many to righteousness, 
maj you shine as the stars, and the brightness of 
the firmament forever and ever; 

We present no ordinary congratulations to 
you, my respected friends of this church and 
congregation. In addition to the satisfaction We 
experience in beholding your speedy resettlement 
of the gospel ministry, we have not, as on many 



SER. 2. AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 65 

occasions, to sympathize with you in the removal 
from this present life of your late much esteemed 

and beloved pastor. Called by Providence to 
another and a different sphere of usefulness, his 

connection with you has been dissolved in the 
most perfect harmony. Though absent from you 
in the flesh, yet we have no doubt he will always 
be with you in the spirit, joying and beholding 
your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in 
Christ. Suffer me to request for your pastor 
elect the same kind attentions which you de- 
lighted to manifest towards his predecessor. He 
is a young soldier. Leave him not alone to fight 
the battles of the Lord against the mighty ; but, 
by diligent and constant attendance on his minis- 
trations, by a zealous co-operation in all his plans 
and exertions for the increase of truth and piety, 
and by an uniform and affectionate remembrance 
of him in your prayers, endeavor to strengthen 
his hands and encourage his heart. Receive the 
truth from his lips with a spirit of love. Re- 
member that, if it is his duty to preach the truth 
in love, it is yours to attend to it with a like 
Christian and charitable spirit. Listen to it 
without prejudice. Imitate the example of the 
Bereans, who were more noble than those in 
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with 
9 



()G AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER. SJER. 2. 

all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures 

daily whether these tilings were so. Much of 
the comfort and happiness of your pastor in this 
life, will be dependent upon you. Be not un- 
reasonable in your expectations from him. If 

you desire to be edified by his ministrations on 
the Sabbath, you must not make too large de- 
mands upon his time during the week. By those 
little attentions and kindnesses, which, though 
trilling in themselves, contribute much to a min- 
ister's comfort, you will endeavor to render his 
residence among you pleasant and happy. But 
I forbear. I know your attachment to him, and 
I cannot doubt you Mill do all in your power 
to contribute to his happiness. May you long 
rejoice in his light, and may he long enjoy your 
esteem and affection; — and, when the connection 
now to be formed shall be dissolved, may you 
meet together in that better world, where prayer 
shall gi?e place to praise, ordinances to realities, 
and faith to vision. 

And now, brethren, we commend you to the 
blessing of ( rod. Be perfect, be of one mind, live 
in peace; and the God of peace shall be with you. 

The glace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
Ghost be with you all, Ami:>. 



en 



SERMON III 



THE CONNECTION HKTWEEN A HOUSE OF WOUS! IIP AND 
THE MINISTRY CWF THE GOSPEL. 



ezra viii. 17. 



That they should bring unto us ministers for the house of 

our God. 

The book of Ezra contains an interesting por- 
tion of Jewish history. At the period in which 
it w r as written, that unhappy though distinguished 
people, were enduring the verification of their 
own prophecies. By the rivers of Babylon they 
sat down ; — they hung their harps upon the 
willows ; they w T ept when they remembered 
Zion. The spirit of patriotism and attachment 
to the land of their fathers' sepulchres, though 
smothered and enfeebled, was not extinct ; and 
there were some among the captive Jews, in the 



G8 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

reigns of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who breathed 
the sentiments so beautifully recorded in the 
137th Psalm. — If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let 
my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not 
remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof 
of my mouth. If I prefer not Jerusalem above 
my chief joy. Among these, Ezra was pre-em- 
inently distinguished, lie was a man of supe- 
rior learning, and unquestionable piety, a ready 
scribe in the law of Moses, and a great favorite 
at the Persian court. Such was his influence 
with the reigning monarch, that he granted him 
all his request according to the hand of the 
Lord his God upon him. 

An attempt had been made by some of the 
captive .Jews, under the patronage of Cyrus, 
between seventy and eighty years previous to 
the time of Ezra, to rebuild the city and temple 
of Jerusalem. In this attempt they experienced 
great opposition from the enemies of Zion ; but, 
through the blessing of God, they finally suc- 
ceeded in rebuilding the temple. And the chil- 
dren of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and 
the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the 
dedication of this house with joy. It was after 
these things, when probably the zeal of those 
who had erected the second temple had in some 



SER. 3. tiii: HOUSI OF ("ion. 69 

measure declined, thai Ezra undertook the cause 
of his oppressed countrymen) and obtained a 
decree from Artstxerxes, granting permission to 
all the children of Israel) and the priests and 

Levites, which were minded of their own free 
will) to go up to Jerusalem. 

Encouraged by the royal proclamation, and 
strengthened as the hand of the Lord his God 
an as upon him, Ezra gathered together the chief 
men of Israel and departed for the city of his 
fathers. Before he reached the end of his 
journey, he and his company halted at the river 
Ahava. At this place he received the people and 
the priests, but found there none of the sons of 
Levi. The tribe of Levi, by the law of Moses, 
was separated from the other tribes for religious 
services. Aaron and his immediate descendants 
were appointed to the priesthood. The rest of 
the tribe were employed in acts of religious 
worship pertaining to the service of the temple. 
It appears from the context, that though some 
of the immediate descendants of Aaron were 
among the company, there were none of the rest 
of the tribe of Levi, and consequently, according 
to the Jewish ritual, the worship of God could 
not be regularly conducted in the temple at Je- 
rusalem. To surmount this difficulty, Ezra 



70 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

dispatched a deputation of his chief men to 

Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia — that they 
sliould bring unto them ministers for the house 
of their God. The deputation were successful 
in their embassy, and the desired reinforcement 
of LeviteSj and of Nethinims, who were an in- 
ferior ordej of servants in the temple, was ob- 
tained. Thus supplied with the various officers 
of the Jewish sanctuary, the pious leader, having 
proclaimed a fast, and sought the favor of God, 
proceeded on his way to the holy city. 

From this interesting passage of scripture, as 
thus explained, we may derive a subject of dis- 
course, not inapplicable to the blended occasions 
upon which we have assembled. 

We have met together, this day, to dedicate 
this neat and commodious edifice to the service 
of Almighty God; and we have also assembled, 
at the same time, to assist in the introduction of 
a laborer into this part of the vineyard, and to 
sanction by our prayers and counsels the endear- 
ing connection between a pastor and his flock. 

With these two solemn and interesting trans- 
actions in view, 1 have thought that our at- 
tention might profitably be directed to — the 
connection between a House of Worship, and 
the Ministry of the Gospel. 



5ER- .!. Tin: HOUSE QF QOD« 71 

Ezra did not think the temple at Jerusalem 
completely organised, until he had obtained all 
the officers required !>\ the Mosaic law for the 
regular administration of the Jewish ritual. And 
we must acknowledge, thatj although tin! erection 
of another edifice for the worship of Clod is, of 
itself, a subject of no ordinary gratulation — it 
assumes a far greatef interest, when viewed in 
connection with the introduction of a faithful and 
devoted minister of the gospel to the pastoral care 
of the little band of believers, who have erected 
this house for their accommodation. It is pleas- 
ant to see another golden candlestick set up in 
this vicinity, but it is still more delightful to 
behold a burning and shining light so speedily 
and harmoniously placed in it. May he, who 
walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks, 
and who holdeth the stars in his right hand, 
command his blessing upon us, and direct our 
meditations on his holy word ! 

In the following discourse I shall endeavor to 
show — that the Dedication of a House of Public 
Worship, derives much, if not all, of its interest, 
from the Ministry of the Gospel. 

It is obvious, that there is a marked difference 
between the tabernacle and the temple under 



72 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

the law, and houses of worship under the gospel. 
It pleased God to dwell with his ancient people, 

when they were in a wandering and unsettled 
state, through the medium of a moveable build- 
ing, called the tabernacle. Of this remarkable 
building, a minute and accurate description is to 
be found in the book of Exodus. Moses was 
directed to build it according to the exact pattern 
shown him by Jehovah himself. This tabernacle, 
or rather the ark which it contained, was the 
peculiar residence of the King of Israel, who, 
from between the cherubims, marched gloriously 
through the wilderness in the midst of his people, 
conducting them from place to place, till they 
passed over Jordan to the promised Canaan. 
After various removals of the ark, a permanent 
abode for it was provided by the erection of the 
temple, under the reign of Solomon. Of this 
magnificent edifice, we have also a particular 
account in the book of Kings. In this building 
God's visible presence was displayed. Here the 
Shechinah took up its residence, for the glory 
of the Lord filled the house. The temple was, 
at all times, sacred to the worship of God ; and 
thither the tribes of Israel were commanded to 
repair to pay their vows unto the Most High. 
The first temple remained but a short time in 



•;. 3. mi: BOUSE OF <-OD. 

all its glory, 1m\ — on, under various pre- 
tences, i 3 : and the glory 
having departed in consequence of the disobe- 
dience of tlir children of Israel, it was entirely 
1 and demolished by Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon. The temple was rebuilt, as 
;v had occasion to notice, and con- 
tinued till after the time of the Saviour, when it 
ized to the ground in the memorable sieire 
of Jerusalem, by the Roman army. 

Under tin 1 dispensation we have no one 

temple to which we are commanded to repair: 
but the time has arrived, predicted by the Sav- 
iour, when, neither in the mountain of Samaria. 
nor yet at Jerusalem, shall men worship the 
Father; but when the true worshippers shall 
worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the 
Father seeketh such to worship him. In the 
• Testament scriptures we read of no pattern 
for the erection of houses of worship — no promise 
of the Shechinah or divine presence to any partic- 
ular place or building. — but wherever two or three 
meet together in the name of Jesus, whether in 
an upper room, such as that to which the primi- 
tive disciples resorted after the resurrection of 
their Lord, or in dens and caves of the earth. 
to which the ancient Caineronians. and other 
10 



74 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

persecuted sects have been obliged to retreat, — 
there the presence of their divine Master may 
he expected to bless them, and make the place 
of their assembly — the house of God and the 
gate of heaven. 

The difference of houses of worship, then, 
tmder the Jewish and Christian dispensations, 

should not he forgotten. Under the law, God 
designated one particular spot and edifice as the 
abode of his presence, and hence holy Daniel 
prayed with his face towards the temple at Jeru- 
salem. But under the gospel, there is no such 
sanctity attached to any particular building, nor 
can this sanctity be communicated by any ex- 
ercises performed at the dedication of a house 
intended for the worship of God. Its sanctity 
must depend altogether upon the services that 
may be performed within its walls. If heartless 
prayers should be offered, if dangerous errors 
should be propagated under the name of the 
gospel of Christ, it can in no sense whatever be 
considered a house of God. 

By these observations, we would not be un- 
derstood as undervaluing the laudable practice 
of dedicating houses of worship by appropriate 
religious exercises. We only wish that the sub- 
ject may be properly understood, and guarded 



-iK. Si nii: nor 3E or <;on. 1 6 

linst those abuses \\ i t li which it has been 
too often surrounded in Christian communities. 
There surely can be no objection, but) on the 

contrary, a very great propriety in peitinent 
religious services on first occupying a house, to 
be. in future time, devoted to the service of 
God; — but we must not hence conclude that 
any inherent sanctity is thus communicated to 
the edifice 4 itself. We know there are some who 
attach importance to a building once consecrated 
to the worship of God, independently of the 
services of the gospel ministry. They think 
the very walls holy. This is not surprising 
in Catholic countries, where the churches 
are filled with images, where the holy water 
stands continually, and where even the bells are 
baptized into the sacred name of the Trinity. 
But we can conceive of no other sanctity in such 
an edifice than that associated with the exercises 
of religion; — for what is it that constitutes an 
edifice a house of God? Surely it is not the 
style of its architecture, whereby it differs from 
houses erected for our own accommodation; 
surely it is not because it is designated by a 
particular name. It is because the gospel is 
preached w r ithin its walls, accompanied by the 
influences of the Holy Spirit. 



76 MINISTERS FOK 3ER, S. 

That the dedication of a liousc of worship, 
then, derives much, if not all its interest, from 
the ministry of the gospel, will, I trust, be made 
to appear, in addition to what has already been 
suggested, from the following considerations. 

It is through the ministry of the gospel, 
accompanied by the Holy Spirit, that sinners 
are convicted of sin. The preaching of the 
gospel is the great instrument in the hand of 
God in the conviction of sinners. We do not 
say that it is, exclusively, instrumental in their 
conviction. God sometimes blesses the dispen- 
sations of his providence, both merciful and 
afflictive, to awaken the attention of the care- 
less and thoughtless to the things which con- 
cern their everlasting peace. Sometimes, too, 
the reading of the word of God and other books 
of piety, together with the conversation of those 
that fear God, is made effectual, through divine 
influence, to the conviction and conversion of 
sinners. But we believe that such instances are 
rare, compared with those who are brought to 
the knowledge and belief of the truth through 
the instrumentality of a preached gospel. It is 
l)\ the foolishness of preaching, that God is 
pleased to save them that believe. This is the 
great instrument which God has ordained in the 



SER. 3« THE HOUSE OF BOD. 1 7 

conversion of men. It is in the house of God, 
under the faithful and pungent preaching of the 
gospel, that sinners are pricked in the heart, and 
led to inquire what they shall do to be saved. 
Their sins are set in order before them by the 
word of truth, sent borne to their consciences by 
the Spirit of God, and being convinced of all and 
judged of all. they worship God, and report that 
lie is with his people of a truth. 

Bul again. It is through the same instrumen- 
tality, that sinners are brought to hope in a 
Saviour. After the sinner has been pricked in 
the heart by the preaching of the word, with 
what earnest attention will he resort to that 
house of God where he received his first religious 
impressions, that he may gain a further knowledge 
of his own character, and learn the way of salva- 
tion from sin and hell! With such feelings how 
interesting does the house of God become ! 
With what breathless anxiety does he listen to 
the messenger of heaven, the legate of the skies, 
as he attempts to direct the trembling sinner to 
the cross of Christ ! In the name of his Master, 
he proclaims the gracious invitations of the 
gospel, and calls upon every one that thirsteth to 
come to the waters, and him that hath no money 
to buy wine and milk without money and with- 



78 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

out price. As he listens to these gracious invi- 
tations, the burden falls to the ground, and he is 
enabled to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
Of /ion, of tin; house of Clod, it may now be 
said, that this and that man was born there; and 
this distinguished blessedness is to be attributed 
to the ministry of the gospel in the house of 
God. 

But it is not only the conversion of sinners that 
is effected by this instrumentality ; the comfort 
and edification of Christians is greatly promoted 
and advanced. The people of God know how 
to value a preached gospel. They can exclaim 
in the devout language of the Psalmist, How 
amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 
A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. 

It is true there are other means of a Chris- 
tian's sanctilication, which we would by no means 
undervalue in our estimation of the importance 
of public worship. A\ ithout secret prayer, medi- 
tation and self-examination at home, the ser- 
vices of the house of God will be of little use. 
But to those who unite the duties of the closet 
with those of the sanctuary, the advantages de- 
rived from the ministry of the gospel in the 
house of God are inestimable. By regular at- 
tendance on a preached gospel, they acquire 



SER. 3. mi: HOUSE Of OOD. 7!) 

correct and systematic views of divine truth; 
the understanding is enlightened] and when the 
word is accompanied by the Spirit, the heart is 
sanctified] and growth in grace and divine knowl- 
edge is promoted and increased. Like holy 
David, thr Christian is sometimes perplexed with 
doubts and fears, but like David's, they are often 
removed when he goes to the sanctuary of God. 
If lie has the happiness to attend a preacher, 
skilful in dividing the word of truth, he often 
hears questions of Christian casuistry satisfac- 
torily answered and explained. 

It is by the ministry of the gospel in the house 
of God, also, that backsliding Christians are often 
reclaimed and induced to remember from whence 
they had fallen, and repent. The solemn appeals 
that are made by the faithful servant of Christ 
to the consciences of his hearers, are frequently 
blessed, not only to the conviction and conversion 
of the impenitent, but to the awakening of those 
who are at ease in Zion. Christian professors 
are roused from their lethargy, and excited to 
renewed vigilance and increasing effort in their 
Master's service. 

Our subject derives still further illustration, 
from the consideration that it is by the ministry 
of the gospel in the house of God, that the 



80 MINISTERS FOR 3ER. 3. 

ordinances of religion are applied to the proper 
subjects. The ordinances of the gospel are not, 
like the ceremonies of the law, numerous and 
burdensome. They are distinguished for their 
simplicity. But, though simple, they arc singu- 
larly solemn and impressive, and arc calculated 
to give an additional solemnity to the place 
where they are ordinarily administered. When 
the servant of Jesus administers the initiatory 
rite of our holy religion to believing adults, or 
their offspring, that mind must be indeed desti- 
tute of religious sensibility that is not impressed 
by the transaction a\ ith reverence and awe. But, 
when he stands at the sacramental hoard to bless 
the sacred emblems of a Saviour's broken body 
and Bowing blood — when he directs his weeping 
Sock to Calvary, and points them to the bleeding 
Lamb who died for their redemption, that heart 
must be made of adamant that is not melted by 
the affecting scene. Such transactions, although 
they infuse no essential sanctity into the building 
where they are ordinarily witnessed, do, from the 
principle of association, produce in the mind a 
reverence and attachment to the house itself, 
which we would cherish with delight and satis- 
faction. 

That the opening of a house for public worship 



B£R. ! >. i in: HOUSE or cod. 81 

derives much if not all its interest from the 
ministry of the gospel, will further appear, if 
we consider that it is by the establishment of 
the gospel ministry in a particular place, that the 
interesting relation is formed between pastor and 
people. 

A few moments 3 reflection upon the nature of 
this relation will tend to illustrate our subject. 

There are several circumstances which render 
the pastoral relation peculiarly interesting. It is 
a relation in which the interests of the soul are 
particularly concerned, and, consequently, its re- 
sults are infinitely momentous. It is a relation 
which calls into exercise the best feelings of our 
nature. It originates and confirms some of our 
strongest attachments. A pastor and his flock 
are united by ties, in some respects more en- 
dearing than those of natural affection, certainly 
than those of any civil connection whatever, 
ile is bound to watch for their souls as one 
that must give an account, and they are bound 
to esteem him highly in love for his work's sake. 
The attachment which the faithful pastor feels 
for his people, especially for those whom he has 
reason to regard as his spiritual children, is in- 
describably tender. This attachment is, doubt- 
less, reciprocal on the part of the people. They 
11 



32 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

must regard, with the most lively and affectionate 
interest, the man to whom, under God, they are 
indebted for instruction, consolation and Christian 
hope — who has devoted their offspring to God in 
holy baptism] and who, in their after years, has 
instilled into their opening minds the principles of 
Christianity — who has broken to them the bread 
of life — w ho has stood by their beds in the hour 
of sickness, and animated their drooping spirits 
by his affectionate sympathy and fervent prayers 
— who has accompanied them to the graves of 
their kindred, and mingled his tears with theirs 
in the house of mourning — who has, both in 
season and out of season, by warnings and en- 
treaties, by prayers and by tears, besought them 
to flee from the coming wrath, and allured them, 
by the holy felicities of the heavenly world, to 
immortality and glory. 

Bringing with them feelings that grow out 
of these tender relations, how interesting is 
the meeting of a pastor and his people in the 
house of God! There the pastor looks around 
upon his little flock, collected together into 
one ibid, with emotions which none but a 
pastor can feel. Over some he rejoices, and 
over others he mourns, and all he devoutly 
commends to the God of grace. It is this meet- 



EL 3. mi, iior-i: 01 (.od. 83 

ing of pastor and people from Sabbath to Sab* 

bath, and from week to week, that glVBS Blicfc an 

interest to the house in which they assemble, and 
which loads them to connect with it SO man\ 
delight fa 1 and solemn association 

Thus, w e perceive, that it is the ministry of 
the gospel, accompanied by the influences of the 
Jlolv Spirit, that renders any particular edifice 
a house of God and a gate of heaven. 

From our subject we may perceive, first, the 
propriety of setting apart, in a solemn and 
devotional manner, a building intended for the 
worship of God and the ministry of the gospel. 
While we carefully guard against those abuses 
which have attended this subject in the minds of 
the ignorant and superstitious, we would cheer- 
fully admit the propriety of the custom so preva- 
lent in our churches, of dedicating houses of 
public worship to the service of Almighty God. 
We believe that this custom originated in the 
purest motives, for no people were further from a 
superstitious reverence for the building itself, 
than the founders of the New England churches. 
Recently separated from a national church, who 
attached no little importance to consecrated tem- 
ples, it might have been expected, that in con- 



84 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3* 

ducting the order of their own meeting-houses, 
they would carefully avoid what they considered 
as superstition, and the remnant of popery 

in the church from which they seceded. It 
might be a subject of interesting research for the 
ecclesiastical historian of our country, to ascer- 
tain the views of our fathers on this subject, 

and to trace the origin of the custom, that now 
so generally prevails, of dedicating houses of 
worship. It is apprehended by the speaker, 
that the custom of a formal dedication is of 
modern origin. If viewed in the light in which 
we have endeavored to present it, as deriving its 
principal interest from the ministry of the gospel, 
no serious mind can object, but, on the contrary, 
must cordially approve of it, as calculated to 
cherish a reverential sense of the divine presence 
in the sanctuary, and to foster a respect and 
veneration for the institutions and ordinances of 
religion. Still, let it ever be remembered that 
a house derives its glory, not from any sanctity 
communicated to its walls by any services of ours, 
but from the glorious gospel of the blessed God, 
which is promulgated from its desk by the faith- 
ful ministers of JesUS. 

Secondly, we may learn from our subject 
the inestimable value of the gospel ministry. 



SER. •'. run HOUSE Of OOD. 

If. as we hav< a, it is the gospel ministry 
that eives all its interest and story to a house 
of worship, how unspeakably important docs it 
appear! It is the great instrument, in the hand 
of God, in the conversion of the world. It does 
not become as to inquire whether God might Dot 
have recovered a ruined world by some other 
method. It is sufficient for us that he has com- 
manded his disciples to go out into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
The preaching of the cross, is to them that perish 
foolishness, but to them that are saved it is 
the power of God. When we reflect on the 
momentous consequences that result from the 
ministry of the gospel, we know not how to 
appreciate its value: nor shall we ever be able, 
duly, to appreciate it, till we view these eonse- 
quences in the light of eternity — till we see, in 
unclouded vision, the millions of souls, which, 
through the instrumentality of a preached gospel, 
have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and 
made meet for the heavenly inheritance — and wit- 
ness the doom of those unhappy spirits, who 
have slighted the invitations of mercy, to whom, 
in consequence of their hardness, impenitence 
and unbelief, the preaching of the gospel has 
proved a savor of death unto death. 



86 MINISTERS J <>K SER. 3. 

In view of this final consummation, how im- 
portant does the gospel ministry become : and 
how trifling and insignificant do all other employ- 
ments and occupations appear, when compared 
with his. who holds in his hands the commission 
of Jehovah — who, as an ambassador of the King 
of kings, beseeches men in Christ's stead to be 
reconciled to God — whose business it is to deal 
with the consciences of his fellow sinners in 
regard to the awful realities of death and judg- 
ment, of heaven and hell ! Well may the minister 
of Jesus tremble when he reflects upon his respon- 
sibilities. Well may he adopt the desponding, 
yet supplicating language of the apostle — Who 
is sufficient for these things? — and well may his 
spirit be cheered with the animating assurance, 
My grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength 
shall be made perfect in thy weakness. 

We learn from our subject, thirdly, that it is 
peculiarly desirable that every house of worship 
should be supplied with a faithful minister of the 
gospel. Like Ezra, we would not be satisfied 
till we have ministers for the house of our God. 
Much as we rejoice in the multiplication of 
houses of worship, our satisfaction will not be 
complete, till we see them all supplied with a 
faithful, learned and pious ministry. We have 



skii. 3. mi: noi BE OF cod. 87 

reason foi grateful acknowledgment to the great 
Head of the church, for the pleasing prospects 
the friends of Zion are permitted to entertain on 
this subject. The number of pious, devoted 
ministers is rapidly increasing, and the prospect 
daily brightening, that all our churches will soon 
be supplied with pastors after God's own heart, 
to feed them with knowledge and understanding. 
JYe hail, as tin; brightest signs of the day in 
which we live, the establishment of education 
societies, and the institution of theological semi- 
naries We rejoice, that, when our churches 
need faithful pastors, we have a Casiphia to 
which we can send, to obtain ministers for the 
house of our God. 

But they which minister about holy things, 
must live of the things of the temple; and 
they which wait at the altar, must be par- 
takers of the altar. So hath the Lord or- 
dained, that they which preach the gospel 
should live of the gospel. The great difficulty 
with our churches in this section of our country 
is, not so much a deficiency of suitable men to 
sustain the pastoral office, as the want of means 
to afford them a comfortable support. Many of 
our churches are feeble. Some have been con- 
strained, from their attachments to those doctrines, 



88 MINISTERS FOR BER. 3. 

in belief of which the fathers of New England 
lived and died, to withdraw from them who Beek 
another faith. Such churches have strong claims 
upon our s\ mpathv and benevolence. Their num- 
ber is increasing) and it is high time that the 
attention of the religious public was awakened to 
their relief. Let those societies who have for 
their object the assistance of feeble churches, and 
the repairing of waste places, receive increasing 
patronage from the friends of Zion. 

It is pleasant, amidst all the discouragements 
which we are too often tempted to regard, to be- 
hold churches and societies arising around us on 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief corner stone, — at- 
tached to that system of doctrine and discipline, 
which was the glory of New England in her 
brightest day. It is delightful to witness the 
erection of edifices for the worship of God, for 
the propagation of those sentiments which we 
believe to be consonant to his holy word. \\ hat 
greatly adds to the satisfaction we experience on 
this interesting occasion, is the entire confidence 
we feel, that this church of our Lord Jesus 
Christ is built on that foundation — that this house 
is erected for that objed — and that the man, 
this day to be intrusted with the care of these 



SER. 3, ihi: HOI BE OF GOD. 89 

immortal souls, is qoi a novice, bul a scribe well 
instructed in the kingdom of heaven — whose past 
triaU, experience! and fidelity, are the best pledges 
of his continued usefulness. 

Brethren of this church and society, accept our 
congratulations on this auspicious occasion. You 

behold on this day a signal answer to your 
prayers — a full completion of your most sanguine 
hopes and expectations. God has blessed the 
labor of your hands in the erection of this neat 
and commodious edifice. It has now been so- 
lemnly dedicated to that God, whom you profess 
to adore — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
May you ever find it a Bethel for yourselves 
and your children. 

But this is not half the blessing for which 
we offer you our congratulations. What is this 
house, with all its convenience and beauty, but 
perishable material of wood and stone? It is 
but a chandelier, without the lights to give it 
brilliancy. We congratulate you, that it is this 
day lighted up — that this pulpit is this day to be 
filled with a man of God, whose praise is in our 
churches. Receive him, then, brethren, and es- 
teem him highly in love, for his work's sake. 

In the accomplishment of these united objects, 
we are aware you have made many sacrifices. 
12 



90 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. 

You have done well. And are you not this day 
abundantly rewarded ? Be not weary in well 
doing. Let not your zeal decline with the com- 
pletion of your plans. You have built this house. 
See that you frequent its sacred courts, and with 
solemn reverence, and pious affections, pay your 
vows to the Most High. You have chosen this 
servant of the Lord to be your pastor. In this 
choice your unanimity and zeal have been truly 
commendable. I know the affection you bear 
him, and I know that he deserves it. But, 
brethren, suffer a word of exhortation. Your 
pastor comes among you under the most flatter- 
ing circumstances. He confidently relies on 
your warm expressions of attachment. He has 
been called, in times past, to peculiar trials, upon 
which it is unnecessary to enlarge, and he now 
hopes to find rest in the bosom of an affectionate 
people. Let not his expectations be disappointed. 
Avoid, as much as possible, every unnecessary 
controversy. Endeavor to keep the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace. Let your pastor 
and his family ever receive from you a comforta- 
ble support. If he sows unto you spiritual 
things, is it not reasonable that he should reap 
your carnal tilings ? We ask not great things 
for him, but we feel it our duty to say that his 



SER. 3. THE HOUSE OF GOD* 91 

life should be made bo comfortable by the people 
be serves in the Lord, that he may be enabled to 
give himself wholly to the work of the ministrj 

and the edification of the body of Christ. 

Btttj my friends, it is not by temporal favors 
that the heart of your minister is to be encour- 
aged. He seeks not yours but you. Though he 
may live at ease in respect to worldly provision, 
his heart will sink within him if he sees no 
evidence that the work of the Lord prospers in 
his hands — if he beholds sinners crowding the 
broad road that leadeth to destruction, and rarely 
hears the anxious inquiry, What shall I do to be 
saved ? Do you wish to make him happy ? 
Make your peace with God. Receive with 
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to 
save your souls. Live as the grace of God 
teacheth, denying all ungodliness and every 
worldly lust, and adorn the doctrine of God 
your Saviour by your lives and conversations. 
In this way, dear brethren, you will gladden 
the heart of your pastor. You will make his 
days peaceful and happy, and he will lay 
down his bones besides yours, with the ani- 
mating hope, that in the resurrection morning, 
he will meet you again at the right hand of 
God. 



!>J MINIS i ERS FOR 9ER. 3. 

J\T\ beloved brother, to you the transactions of 

this day arc replete Avith the deepest interest. 
This house, which is now dedicated to the 
worship of Cod, is to be the scene of your future 
labors. It must depend upon your ministry, under 
the blessing of the divine Spirit, whether this 
edifice shall deserve the honorable appellation of 
a house of God and a gate of heaven. Our 
earnest prayers accompany your introduction into 
this part of the vineyard. May God Almighty 
grant, that your labors in this house may be 
accompanied with his effectual blessing. — When 
you shall declare to the people who come to 
worship in this house, all the words which God 
has commanded you to declare unto them, dimin- 
ishing not a word, may the Holy Spirit convince 
your hearers of sin, of righteousness and of a 
judgment to come. — When you shall administer 
the ordinances of our holy religion in this sacred 
edifice, may the God of ordinances be with you, 
and the Master of the least make himself known 
to his people in the breaking of bread. 

J >iit, my brother, you will not consider your 
parochial and ministerial duties as by any means 
confined to this house* You will remember the 
example of the apostles — who, not only in the 
temple, but in every house, ceased not to teach 



3ER. - ; - i Hi- H0U8I o\' <.oi>. 93 

and preach Jesus Christ I hesitate not to say, 

that, in my opinion, a minister's usefulness is 
greatly increased by his labors among his people 

from house to house. Not only in the way of 
parochial visitation, but in bringing them in little 
congregations nearer his person, where eye 
meets eve, and heart often meets heart ; and 
where, by a familiar exhortation, he more fre- 
quently finds his way to the consciences of his 
hearers, than by a more labored address from 
the pulpit. 

But it becomes not me to enlarge on these 
subjects to one who has had experience as well 
as myself, in the duties of the pastoral office. 
Yes, my brother, we have not only both of us 
had experience in its duties, but we have also 
known something of its trials. May these trials 
purify us for our Master's service on earth, and 
ripen us for that better state of being, where 
peace, and love, and union, will forever reign. 
In this new connection, may you see good days, 
according to the days in which you have seen 
evil. May nothing disturb the union now to be 
formed. May it be productive of unspeakable 
happiness both to you and your people, and in 
that great day, when the Lord shall make up his 
jewels, may he give you their precious souls, 



94 MINISTERS FOR THE HOUSE of god. ser. 3. 

for the seal of your ministry, and crown of 
rejoicing. 

13y the solemn and interesting services of this 
occasion, this congregation should be reminded of 
the account which they will have to give of their 
improvement of the gospel ministry in the house 
of God. Those of us, my brethren, who preach 
the gospel, and those of you, my hearers, to 
whom this word of salvation is sent, must one 
day stand together at the judgment seat. Happy 
shall we be, if, in that awful crisis, the blood of 
souls is not found in the skirts of ministers ; nor 
the sin of rejecting the offers of mercy, laid to 
the account of their people. 



95 



SERMON IV 



THE BENEFIT OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 



psalm cxxii. 9, 



Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek 

thy good. 

The words selected as the theme of discourse 
form the conclusion of one of the most beautiful 
of David's psalms. It was composed by the 
royal author in commemoration of the annual 
festivals, which the Jews were accustomed to 
celebrate in Jerusalem, the city of their solem- 
nities. It breathes the language of every pious 
heart, when penetrated with a proper sense of 
the value of religious privileges. 

The doctrine clearly contained in the text, 
and to which I would request your attention, is 



96 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. 

this — that a correct appreciation of the value of 
religious institutions, will lead to correspondent 
exertions to encourage and promote them. 

The words of the text, in their original and 

primary application, regarded the Old Testament 
church and the privileges and opportunities en- 
joyed by the children of Israel. At that period 
they were Cod's chosen people, the only de- 
positaries of his revealed will. In comparison 
with the idolatrous nations by whom they were 
surrounded, their privileges were indeed pecu- 
liarly great. While the greatest moral darkness 
covered all the rest of the world, the beams of 
divine revelation irradiated that favored spot of 
the globe. And while the grossest polytheism 
constituted the religion of every other nation, 
they alone were favored with the knowledge of 
the only true God. No wonder, then, that, in 
view of their comparative advantages, the holy 
Psalmist should break out in the exulting and 
transporting language of the beautiful psalm from 
which our text is taken. 

But they who enjoy the brighter and more 
extending light of the Christian revelation, whose 
lot is cast in lands upon which the Sun of Right* 
eoiiMiess shines in meridian glory, have much 
greater reason to admire and adore the source 



sek. i. REuaioi - [NBTi it i ions, 97 

of light and the God of grace, and much higher 
and more powerful motives to appreciate the 
value of religious institutions and privileges. 
That we ma\ be led suitably to realize the value 
of our religious institutional and our correspondent 
obligations to encourage and promote; them, Let 
us, in the further prosecution of our subject, con- 
sider their beneficial influence, 

I. Upon the temporal interests of mankind. 

II. Upon their immortal interests and future 
hopes. 

I. Upon the temporal interests of mankind. 

By the religious institutions of which we 
speak, 1 mean to be understood the regular 
worship of God in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, 
and at other times, in Christian protestant coun- 
tries. That the observance of such institutions 
has a happy influence upon the temporal interests 
of mankind, cannot, I think, be doubted by any 
friend of man, any impartial reader of history, or 
any intelligent observer of men and manners. 
The astonishing difference in the moral condition 
and even in the outward appearance between those 
parts of the world which enjoy the regular ad- 
ministration of Christian institutions and ordi- 
nances, and those places which are destitute of 
13 



98 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. 

such privileges, must be obvious to every friend 
of order, decorum and decency, and impose 
irresistible obligations to employ every lawful 
and consistent effort to promote and encourage 
the establishment and increase of our religious 
institution^. 

Viewed only in a civil and political point of 
light, these institutions must appear desirable to 
every friend of his country. Where is to be 
found the greatest degree of order, civility, 
obedience to the laws, and interchange of those 
amiable attentions and kind offices which tend so 
much to sweeten the intercourse between man 
and man ? Where do we look for that exemption 
from those gross vices which degrade our race 
even below the level of the brutes — for that 
moral sense which aids the execution of just and 
wholesome laws, which frowns upon their infrac- 
tion, and which encourages the dealings of justice 
and equity ? Where do we find that solicitude 
for youthful education, that attention to the 
morals and conduct of the young, which is the 
only ba^is upon which we can ever hope to erect 
a nation's prosperity ? Is it not undeniable that 
we must look for these things to Christian coun- 
tries, and to protectant Christian countries? 
Compare, for one moment, those parts of the 



,;. i. axLiGioua in- n ruTiou s< 99 

world ^ % 1 1 i < * 1 1 arc under the influence of Moham- 
medan delusion, and even those which are at- 
tached to the superstitions of popery, with thai 
portion which has embraced the faith of the 
•rmation — and what an astonishing difference 
will von behold! Look at the savage Turk on 
the one hand, a fundamental part of whose 
religion is a justifiable use of carnal weapons, 
and a sensual paradise to reward its sanguinary 
disciples. Look at the deluded Catholic on the 
other, who hopes to save his soul from purgatory 
by a rich legacy to the church. In most, if not 
all Catholic countries, the Sabbath is awfully 
violated, and considered a day of recreation, 
and not of holv service unto the Lord of 
hosts. Dancing, and gaming, and theatrical 
exhibitions, are not uncommon in a Catholic 
country on the Sabbath. Compare the state 
of religion and morals in those countries, with 
that in a protestant land. The difference is 
obvious and striking, both in mental improve- 
ment and moral culture. And to what can 
attribute it, but to the influence of our 
religious institutions — to the influence of the 
Sabbath, and the sanctuary. The instructions 
that are dispensed in the house of God from 
week to week, although they may differ in their 



100 ill i: BENEFIT or SER. 4. 

theological complexion, agree in this — the incul- 
cation of good morals. And it is impossible that 
such frequent appeals to the conscience, such 
powerful motives to purity of conduct, as well as 
purity of heart, should be lost upon the numbers 
that attend the services of the sanctuary. It is 
impossible that under such cultivation, accom- 
panied by the divine blessing, the wilderness 
should not blossom, and the barren waste become 
a fruitful field. Indeed, history, observation, and 
experience, all unite in establishing our position, 
that religious institutions have a beneficial in- 
fluence on the temporal interests of mankind ; 
and men, who look no further than the boundary 
of this terrestrial existence, who neither act nor 
calculate in reference to a state of beina beyond 
the glare, must be convinced of the beneficial 
tendency of religion even in this life. And it is 
a fact, that such men, who are deists, if not 
atheists, in principle, have been anxious as poli- 
ticians, to promote the observance of religious 
institutions. They readily perceive the influence 
which they arc calculated to exert upon the 
morals of the community, and, as friends to 
order, sobriety, good government, and the decen- 
ciea of life, they wish well to the institutions of 
religion. 



;. 4. XIGIOl I IH81 in i 101 

II. Bui we bare higher, nobler, and infinitely 
more important motive - to urge in favor of tfa 
institutions. We contend that their principal 

tellence consists in the influence tin j exert 
upon our immortal interests and future hoj 
Alan is an immortal being, destined to exist 
when suns shall to shine, and moons and 

planets to revob When we view him in the 
light of eternity, as commencing, in time, an 
existence that will last for — an existence, 

too, that will I)e either eternally happy or 
wretched, as his character is formed on earth — 

how infinitely important do those institutions 

appear, which have a direct tendency to ripen 
him for another state of being! 

That the institutions of the Christian religion 
have this tendency, cannot be doubted by any 
reflecting mind. The public worship of God. as 
it is conducted in Christian protestant countries, 
on the weekly Sabbath, is calculated to have a 
most salutary influence on the heart and life. It 
calls off the attention of busy man from the 
cares and anxieties of life, and gives him time to 
think of God and his future destiny. 

The instructions that are dispensed from the 
sacred desk, are calculated to enlighten the 
understanding with regard to the duties we owe 



102 Till: BENEFIT OF -ER. 4. 

to God and man. Hero, the character of God is 
described — the spirituality of his law explained. 
Here, too, the seerets of hearts are opened, and 
mrii can see the plague of their own hearts, and 
their real characters in the glass of the gospel. 
And from the pulpit, too, we hear repeated from 
week to week, the wonderful story of a Saviour's 
love. Sometimes we are led by the hand of 
the preacher, to visit the infant Jesus in the 
manger in Bethlehem. Sometimes he directs 
our steps to the mount, where, from his grassy 
seat, the Saviour dispenses his instructions to the 
listening multitude. But it is when he points us 
to the cross, and bids us look to the Lamb of 
God who takcth away the sin of the world, that 
we realize something of the value of the soul, 
for whose redemption such an infinite price was 
necessary — that we see the utter insignificancy of 
the world, and the insufficiency of all its attrac- 
tions to confer substantial happiness. By the 
dispensation of the precious truths of the gospel, 
sinners are awakened to a sense of their lost and 
miserable condition, as under the curse of a 
violated law, and are led to inquire what they 
shall do to be saved. And through the instru- 
mentality of a preached gospel also, the people 
of God are fed, and strengthened, and animated, 



SER. 1. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 103 

and encouraged) and trained up for glory, honor, 
and immortality. 

The prayers and praises that form an impor- 
tant part of the exercises of a Christian Assembly, 
are happily calculated to cherish the Same of 
devotion, and to give a foretaste of the joys of 
the upper sanctuary. We might dwell on the 
comforts and satisfactions which the Christian 
experiences in attending on the institutions of 
religion. Like David, he is ready to say, I was 
glad when they said unto me, Let us go up to the 
house of the Lord ; and with the same holy man 
to exclaim, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O 
Lord of hosts. A day spent in thy courts is 
better than a thousand. I had rather be a door- 
keeper in this house than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness. 

The Jewish tabernacle was the seat of God's 
special presence. It was a kind of tent that 
might be moved from place to place, as occasion 
required. It was, as it were, the palace of the 
Most High — the dwelling of the God of Israel, 
wherein the Israelites, during their journey 
through the wilderness, performed the chief of 
their religious exercises, offered their sacrifices, 
and worshipped God. Here God frequently 
condescended to manifest himself in a visible 



104 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. 

glory- It is not surprising, then, that David 
considered the place peculiarly amiable that was 

honored by the special presence of God. It is 
true that the houses appropriated for Christian 
worship, arc not favored with any visible mani- 
festations of the divine glory. This manifestation 
was peculiar to the Jewish dispensation. And 
although we are not to expect to see the pillar 
of cloud resting upon our tabernacles, as a 
S3 mbol of the divine presence, we have reason to 
believe that where two or three are met together 
in the name of Christ, there he will be in the 
mid>t of them to bless them. In all places, says 
Jehovah, where I record my name, I will come 
unto tine and bless thee. Christians, too, have 
felt the truth of this promise in their own happy 
experience. They have often realized such a 
powerful sense of the special presence of God in 
his sanctuary, as to lead them to exclaim in the 
language of Jacob, Surely the Lord is in this 
place ! How dreadful is this place ! This is 
none other than the house of God and the gate 
of heaven! 

In the house of God, the devout worship- 
per finds comfort and satisfaction, encourage- 
ment and support, under every situation in 
which he may be placed in life. Is his mind 



u. 1. R£LIGI0U8 INSTITUTIONS. 106 

laboring under conviction erf sin? The bouse of 
God is the place to obtain relief. There God 

delights to meet the sinner and speak peace to 

his soul. Is he exposed to temptation? The 
snare is best broken in the sanctuary. There he 
obtains renewed strength to contend with all his 

spiritual enemies. \s he distressed a\ itli worldly 
cares and perplexities? He can go to the temple 
of God and leave all his care behind him. Is he 
distressed with doubts respecting the divine 
government, by seeing the wicked prosper in the 
world: He goes to the sanctuary of God, and 
there understands their end. Thus, in all cases 
of doubt and difficulty, of distress and trouble, 
the Christian finds relief in the house of God. 
Indeed, the whole amount of spiritual and eternal 
benefits arising from religious institutions, will 
not be fully known till the judgment of the great 
day. It will then be said of Zion, this and that 
man was bom in her. The Lord shall count 
when he writeth up the people, that this man 
was born there. 

We are taught by our text, that a correct 
appreciation of the value of religious privileges, 
will lead to correspondent exertions to encourage 
and promote them. Because of the house of the 
Lord our God, I will seek thy good. Every 
14 



106 THK BENEFIT OF SEK. 4. 

real Christian will not rest satisfied with liis own 
personal enjoyment of the privileges of the 

gospel. It is the very nature and essence of his 
religion to desire that others may partake of his 
advantages, and share in his privileges. And the 

only reason \\h\ this principle of his religion is 
not brought more frequently into operation is, 
that he does not sufficiently realize the wants of 
others. Confined as most Christians are by the 
nature of their avocations to their homes and fire- 
sides, and ignorant as many of them are of the 
moral state of a great part of the world, they are 
apt to think that the privileges they enjoy so abun- 
dantly themselves, are enjoyed in the same wide 
extent by others. When they meet together on 
the weekly Sabbath in their commodious edifices 
for the worship of God, they do not reflect that 
many, who anxiously desire the same privileges, 
aif deprived of them, and have no convenient 
houses where they can meet together with their 
families, to worship the only living and true God. 
Perhaps there is no part of the world where 
the institutions of religion are more generally 
respected and observed, than in our own coun- 
try: but even in this highly favored land, there 
arc many parts of it that are rarely favored 
with the glad tidings of salvation, except oc- 



BER« 4. RELIGIOUS INS n I i "I 'IOH 9i 101 

casionalty through the instrumentality of sonic 
itinerant missionary) who scatters the seed and 
then leaves it to itself. Every intelligent agri- 
culturist in this assembly knows that all important 
and essential as it is to sow the seed, but little 
hopes of a favorable harvest can be entertained, 
if it is left entirely to itself, to be choked with 
noxious weeds, and to be bound by untillcd earth. 
In like manner, many parts of our country arc 
suffering for the want of a regular system of 
moral and spiritual culture. It is not sufficient 
that the gospel be sent by our missionaries from 
place to place. It is necessary that faithful, 
laborious men, should be located to watch the 
first sprouting of the tender plant, to defend it 
from the noxious dews of the night, to separate 
it from the pernicious w r eeds that damp its vigor 
and hinder its growth, and to train it up with 
attentive care, that it may bring forth fruit to the 
praise and glory of divine grace. When this 
moral and spiritual culture is neglected, what 
can be expected, but tares instead of wheat. It 
is, therefore, the duty of all the friends of Zion, 
to promote and encourage religious institutions. 
"What Christian, who has but a spark of that 
heavenly love which animated his divine Master 
when he went about preaching in the cities and 



108 THE BENEFIT OF -F2R. 4. 

villages of Judea, will not feel for those who are 

deprived of the means of grace, and resolve with 

the Psalmi9t 9 in the language of the text, Be- 
cause of the house of the Lord our God, I will 
seek thy good. 

In view of this subject, we cannot but rejoice 
in the pleasing prospects that open upon this part 
of /ion, which has been so long deprived of the 
stated means of grace and the regular enjoyment 
of the institutions and ordinances of religion. 
For a long series of years has this church and 
society been destitute of a pastor and the regular 
administration of Christian ordinances. They 
have been as sheep without a shepherd* The 
sanctuary, in which their fathers worshipped, went 
to decay, and they hung their harps upon the 
willows, and mourned and wept for the deso- 
lations of Zion. Theif situation excited the 
sympathy and the prayers of their brethren. 
They have been visited by faithful and devoted 
men, who have preached to them the gospel of 
salvation, and broken to them the bread of life. 
Their hearts have been encouraged, and their 
hands have been strengthened — and they have 

nobly resolved that they would rise and build a 
bouse lor the worship of God, where they may 



EIERj i. RELIGIOUS in- i I I i HONS. 109 

the beautj of the I iord and inquire in his 
temple. God bas smiled upon their undertaking. 
He h;is prospered them in the work of their 
hands; and now thej have met together for the 
solemn and impressive purpose of dedicating this 
house, which they have built, to the service and 
glory of God. 

It is with no ordinary emotions of satisfaction 
that the society; under whose fostering care 
this church has been revived and encouraged, 
witness the transactions of this day. \Yc have 

son to unite with you, my Christian friends, in 
grateful acknowledgments, to the Repairer of 
breaches, and the Restorer of paths to dwell in, 
that He has heard your supplications, and pros- 
pered your undertaking, and has enabled you to 
complete this neat and convenient edifice, where 
you may worship God according to the dictates 
of your consciences — where your children, and 
your children's children may assemble from gen- 
eration to generation, and hear that wonderful 
story of redeeming love, which fills all heaven 
witli admiration and all the saints on earth with 
gratitude and joy. This house you have built for 
God, and not for man — not for the transaction 
of worldly business, not for the accommodation 
of secular interest, but for the sole purpose of 



] 10 I HE BENEFIT OK BER. 4. 

the worship of God — Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. To that glorious and incomprehensible 

Jehovah, then, let us now solemnly dedicate this 
temple. 

4 O Thou, who dwellest not in temples made 
with hands, but whose throne is the universe 
and whose kingdom is everlasting, accept, we 
humbly beseech thee, the offering which we 
now present in the dedication of this house to 
thy sacred name. Will God indeed dwell on the 
earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens 
cannot contain thee, how much less this house 
which we have built. Yet have thou respect 
unto our prayer, and let thine eyes be open 
towards this house night and day — that thou 
mayest hearken unto the prayers which thy 
servants shall make from time to time in this 
place. What prayer or supplication shall be 
made by any man, who shall know the plague of 
his own heart, then hear thou in heaven thy 
duelling place, and do, and give to every man 
according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest ; 
for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of 
all the children of men ; that thy people may 
fear thee all the days that they live in the 
land which thou gavest unto our fathers. When 



9£Ri I. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. Ill 

thy people shall assemble together in this house. 
either on the weekl) Sabbath or on other occa- 
sions, do thou condescend to mee! them, and 
bless them, and do them good. Here may thy 
gospel be preached in its purity. May thy ser- 
vants, who may stand from time to time in this 
desk, determine to know nothing save Jesus 
Christ and him crucified. May the Spirit of God 
descend here like a refreshing shower, and may 
man) be found inquiring the way to Zion. May 
great additions be made to this little flock, of 
such as shall be saved. Accept the offering of 
thy people, when they shall bring their children 
to the baptismal font. Do thou baptize them 
with the Holy Ghost, and make them heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. When 
thy people shall assemble around the table of the 
Lord to commemorate his dying love, do thou, O 
omnipresent Jesus, make thyself known to them 
in the breaking of bread. Bless the congregation 
who may hereafter worship within these walls; 
revive thy work, and excite a general attention 
to the great concerns of religion. 

4 And now, Lord, arise, thou and the ark 
of thy strength. Hallow this house, and let 
thy name be here forever, and let thine eyes, 
and thine heart be here perpetually ; let it 



I 1 1 tin: BENEFIT of SER. 4. 

please thee to bless this house, that it may 
be before thee forever; for if thou blessest, 
O Lord, it shall he blest forever. 

' To Thee, then, God — Father. Son, and 
Holy Ghost — we solemnly dedicate this pulpit, 
these M'at>. and every part of this edifice. From 
this time, till these walls crumble into dust, let it 
be none other than the bouse of God and the 
gate of heaven. — Amen. 3 

This house, my hearers, has now been solemnly 
dedicated to God. Regard it no longer as yours, 
but God's. Accept our best wishes and fervent 
prayers for your peace and prosperity. May you 
long enjoj the blessing of a preached gospel in 
this sacred temple. May you soon have a pastor 
after God's own heart, to break unto vou the 
bread of life — to feed you with knowledge and 
understanding. Be assured of the continued in- 
terest which the society I represent feels in your 
welfare — of the satisfaction they receive in wit- 
nessing the success of your efforts in providing 
for yourselves and children this neat and commo- 
dious edifice — and of their readiness to co-operate 
with you, consistently with their ability and 
numerous claims, in maintaining the regular ob- 
servance of Christian institutions and ordinan- 



BBBi 4i RELIGIOUS rN8TITDTI0NS« I 19 

Because of the bouse of the Lord our God, 
h e prill Beek j our good* 

To this numerous and respected auditory, suffer 
me to address a word of exhortation in the con- 
clusion of this discourse. Many of you have 
assembled here to unite with your friends and 

neighbors in the congratulations of this occasion. 
If you should return to your homes with deeper 
impressions of the value of religious institutions, 
and with solemn resolutions to do more than you 
have even* yet done to promote and encourage 
them, we shall not have labored in vain. You 
may be assured that much of your happiness 
in this life, and especially in the life to 
come, depends upon the regard which you 
pay to them. When you return to the 
respective congregations with which you are 
severally connected, let it be your great concern, 
by your prayers, by your influence, and by the 
substance which God has given you, to promote 
and encourage these institutions. Let not the 
ministry of the gospel languish and decline 
among you for w r ant of a liberal support. Let 
not the sanctuaries of the Lord fall to decay and 
ruin, for want of your prompt assistance to repair 
them, or if necessary, to erect new edifices for the 
15 



114 RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. SER. 4. 

worship of God. If you regard the interests 
of society — if you value your comfort and peace 
in this life, your own immortal souls, and 
the souls of your fellow men — neglect not to 
provide for the worship of God. For remember, 
that for all your privileges you will one day 
have to give an account. We are all of us 
hastening to the judgment. In a little while we 
shall cease to be benefited by religious institu- 
tions ; we shall soon have no further necessity 
for houses made with hands, to worship the 
Most High. ll«i])])} shall we be, if, ripened by 
the means of religious instruction enjoyed on 
earth, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, we 
may be prepared for admission to that glorious 
temple, not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens, to unite with the myriads of the re- 
deemed from among the children of men, in 
ascribing glory, and honor, dominion, and power, 
thanksgiving, and praise, and blessing, to Him, 
who sittcth on the throne, and to the Lamb, 
forever and ever. 



115 



SERMON V. 



MINISTERIAL COURTESY 



ephesians iv. 31, 32. 



Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and 
evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; 
and be ye hind one to another. 

The words of the text were addressed by 
Paul to the church at Ephesus. In that once 
celebrated and licentious city, he had been 
eminently successful in planting the standard of 
the Redeemer's cross. His attachment, both to 
the elders and members of the Ephesian church, 
was peculiarly strong. His valedictory address 
to the former, in the twentieth chapter of the 
Acts of the Apostles, is one of the most exquis- 
itely tender and pathetic appeals, that can be 



116 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

found in any writing, sacred or profane. After 
this affectionate farewell, the apostle was called 
to pass through a variety of painful trials, and to 
suffer reproach and persecution, on account of his 
undeviating attachment to his Master and his 
fidelity to his cause. Having been constrained 
to appeal unto Caesar to escape the implacable 
wrath of his blood-thirsty countrymen, he found 
leisure, while a prisoner at Rome, to address a 
letter, rich in Christian doctrine and replete 
with practical exhortation, to the church which 
he had been so happily instrumental in gathering 
from a world lying in wickedness. In this epistle, 
although addressed, in general, to the saints that 
are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ 
Jesus, it is not unnatural to suppose, that he 
might have particular reference to the elders of 
the church, whom he met at Miletus, and for 
whom he expressed such a deep and tender 
concern in his memorable address on that occa- 
sion. It will be readily admitted, that the various 
exhortations to practical duties, with which 
the scriptures abound, are applicable to those 
who sustain a public, as well as to those who 
hold a private station in the church, and that 
ministers of the gospel, as well as professing 
Christians generally, need to be exhorted to lay 



Sj:r. 6, MINISTER] u. C0UR1 ESI . 117 

aside all animositj and strife, and to cherish 
feelings of mutual kindness and good will. 

Of the necessity of Mich an exhortation, no 
one, who is acquainted with the present state of 
excitement on subjects of religious controversy 
in this Commonwealth, can entertain a doubt 
It would be useless to attempt to conceal what 
has become so apparent, that there exists among 
Congregational ministers, a wide and important, 
and, as some conceive, a radical and essential 
difference of opinion in regard to the doctrines of 
Christianity. There are those, who adhere to 
the system of faith embraced by the Puritans 
and the early settlers of New England, and 
embodied in the Confession of Faith adopted at 
Cambridge, in the year 1680, and there are 
those who have departed from that system of 
faith, and rejected some of those doctrines, whieh 
their pious ancestors, in days as they suppose 
of comparative darkness, received as the word of 
God. Ministers, entertaining views of Christian 
doctrine so widely different, are still agreed in 
the form of church government, preferring the 
Congregational mode, as held by their venerable 
fathers, to the rites and forms of Episcopacy, 
from which their fathers dissented, or to the 
judicial courts of the Presbyterian church. On 



118 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. -ER. 5. 

account of this agreement, they are still united 
under one denominational character, and hold their 
annual meetings, as in days of yore, in this city 
of their solemnities, for the transaction of busi- 
ness, the public worship of God, and the relief of 
the indigent widows of their departed brethren. 

On such an occasion, my respected fathers 
and brethren, 1 am called to address you. I 
would not appear as the advocate of either of the 
religious parties to which I have alluded, although 
I may have been indebted to the partiality cf one 
of them for the place I occupy. I feel it a 
solemn duty to forbear any expression of attach- 
ment to religious peculiarities, and to remember, 
that I am addressing the whole Convention. 

In selecting a subject for this occasion, I 
might have fixed upon some general topic, the 
discussion of which would not have given um- 
brage to any, and would have left the preacher 
the satisfaction of reflecting, that, if he had done 
no good, he had done no harm : but this reflec- 
tion is not sufficient to satisfy his conscience. 
He is convinced, that the same rule ought to be 
adopted in addressing an assembly of ministers, 
;is in preaching to a mixed congregation on the 
weekly Sabbath — to urge upon them the duties 
most appropriate to their characters and cireum- 



BER, 6* MINISTER] IL ( OURTESY, I 19 

stances, — and, although he feels very incompetent 
to the undertaking of imparting counsel and 
exhortation to bis ministerial brethren, he dans 
not neglect the opportunity afforded him on thi> 
occasion, of endeavoring to soften the asperity of 
religious party, and to infuse, if possible, a spirit 
of mutual kindness and forbearance into the 
breasts of those, who equally profess to be the 
ambassadors of God to man. Nor is he unaware 
of the extreme difficulty and delicacy of the task 
he lias undertaken, and, were his motive to 
please men, he certainly would have relinquished 
it as a hopeless attempt. But, if he knows his 
own heart, lie has a higher and nobler aim ; an 
aim, which, if not appreciated by all his hearers, 
will, he hopes, meet the approbation of the 
Master whom he serves. 

The exhortation in the text supposes the 
existence of a spirit of mutual disaffection in the 
church at Ephesus, and the necessity of the 
exercise of mutual kindness. In the application 
which we have made of the text to the occasion 
upon which we have convened, it would be pain- 
ful and unnecessary to adduce the evidence of 
the fact, that there exists, among the professed 
ministers of the gospel of our own denomination, 
a state of feeling and conduct, which renders the 



1 JO MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SKR. 5. 

exhortation of the apostle applicable to them. 
It will not be my object to dwell upon the 
melancholy fact, which no one, who has eyes to 
read the pamphlets on theological controversy, 
which have issued from the press, or ears to hear 
the clamor and evil speaking which they have 
occasioned, can deny. My design is not to dwell 
upon what has passed, except as a beacon to our 
future course, but to inculcate upon my ministe- 
rial brethren the importance and necessity of 
putting away from them all bitterness, and wrath, 
and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with 
all malice ; and of being kind one to another. In 
accomplishing this design, suffer me to urge the 
importance of manifesting the spirit enjoined in 
our text, — 

1. In regard to the measures, adopted by each 
religious party, to advance its own interests. 

When I speak of religious parties, I would not 
be understood to use the language in an invidious 
sense. The question is not, whether it is de- 
sirable that such parties should exist. The fact 
that they do exist, is undeniable. Nor is it now 
a question, whether they can be so united as to 
act together with mutual benefit and advantage. 
Candid and discerning men of both persuasions, 
I believe, are convinced, that it is neither judi- 



SEtt, ">. mini- it.ki m. COl RTES1 . 121 

cious nor desirable, in the instructions of the 
sanctuary, nor in the promotion of doctrinal 
opinions ;uid the religious objects connected \\ it h 
them, that such a union should be attempted. 
Thr peace of the community is better promoted 

by an agreement to differ, than by a constrained 
attempt to unite opinions so opposite, and objects 
so diverse. 

The judicious advice of Abram to Lot is not 
(inappropriate to the existing state of religious 

parties. Let there be no strife, I pray thee, 
between me and thee, and between my herdmen 
and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. Is not the 
whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I 
pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left 
hand, then I will go to the right, or if thou de- 
part to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 
But, although those of a different faith may feel 
it their duty to act separately in promoting the 
cause of what they consider to be truth, there is 
no reason for the indulgence of a bitter and un- 
kind spirit. Such a separation ought to be per- 
fectly consistent with kind and friendly feelings. 
In this land of religious liberty, it should never 
be forgotten that we have equal rights, and that 
no one sect possesses any exclusive privileges. 
We may honestly believe that our sentiments are 
16 



1 22 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

scriptural, and the belief of them in our opinion 
essentia] to salvation, and that those who differ 
from us embrace dangerous errors ; but this gives 
us do right to control the faith of others, nor to 
entertain towards them any other feelings than 
those of kindness and benevolence. Indeed, the 
very fact that we differ, and that we view the 
difference important, if not fundamental, ought to 
inspire; the kindest feelings towards those, who, 
in our judgment, have enibraeed opinions that 
hazard their salvation. 

Nor ought we to regard the respeetive meas- 
ures, which each religious party conscientiously 
adopts to advance its own interests, with suspi- 
cion and jealousy. Do not the men of this world 
combine and associate together to promote their 
worldly objects and designs? Uo they not readily 
obtain from constituted authority all necessary 
facilities to carry their combinations and associa- 
tions into effect? And shall professing Christians 
indulge in suspicions and jealousies against those 
who are anxious to combine their means and 
influence to advance the interests of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, to promote what they sincerely 
believe to be the cause of vital piety and practical 
religion? Nor should the fair and open attempts, 
which each religious party may make to spread 



SCR. 5. HINtSTIRIAL C0URTE8T. I 23 

the knowledge of its own peculiarities, and to 
increase its numbers and influence, be the subject 
of severe reprehension and unkind remark. Do 
we not live in a land that knows no religious 
establishment, where no compulsion is used to 
enforce the belief of a religious creed, or the 
observance of ecclesiastical ceremonies? Has 
not every denomination the unalienable right of 
supporting itself by its own energies, of putting 
forth all its strength, consistently with a regard 
to order and the rights of others, to build its own 
walls, to repair its own breaches, and to enlarge 
its own bounds ? We may honestly differ in the 
views we entertain of the expediency of these 
measures. We may decline the adoption of them 
ourselves, and avoid, as carefully as we please, 
any participation in them. We may go further — 
we may express our disapprobation of them, and 
give our reasons for disapproving of them, with a 
Christian spirit ; but we are not justified, in the 
sight of God or man, in loading those, who favor 
them, with obloquy and reproach — in holding 
them up to the world as disturbers of the public 
peace — in endeavoring to excite a popular odium 
against them in our own community, as aiming to 
destroy the liberties of the people, and to fasten 
upon them a yoke of bondage. 



121 MINISTKK1AL COl RT&BYi SER. 5« 

This is not the place, nor tlie occasion, to de- 
iVnd or oppose any system of measures pursued 
by any religious party ; but it is the place, and 
the occasion, to bear solemn testimony against 
the unkind, illiberal, and censorious spirit, which 
has beep manifested in the expression of opinions 
respecting these measures. And when can a 
more suitable opportunity present itself, for re- 
monstrating against the indulgence of such a 
spirit, than in the presence of so many of the 
professed ministers of the Prince of peace, of 
that meek and lowly Saviour, who rebuked his 
disciples and said, Ye know not what manner of 
spirit ye are of? — In this sacred temple, then, 
and around this altar of our Fathers, let us resolve 
to put away all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, 
and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice ; 
and to be kind one to another. 

Permit me to enforce the spirit of the text, 

2. In relation to the manner of conducting 
theological controversy through the medium of 
the press. 

A free press is justly considered as the palla- 
dium of our liberties. Any attempt to control 
it, on the part of arbitrary power, ought ever to 
be regarded with quick suspicion and watchful 
jealousy. Far be it from us to wish to restrain 



-in. 5i NUflSTKBIAL C0UftTE8Y« 1 26 

this liberty. We rejoice thai we live in a land, 
where the press \g free as our mountain air, and 
although we are exposed to the violence of the 
tempest it sometimes occasions, it serves to purify 
our political atmosphere, and to preserve our civil 
institutions in a state of vigorous salubrity. But, 
although a freedom of the press, approaching to 
licentiousness, may be tolerated in political con- 
troversy, although opposing aspirants for civil 
office may wrestle on this public arena, — a differ- 
ent spirit becomes the ministers of God, whose 
commission breathes peace on earth and good 
will to men. 

AVe do not say, that religious controversy is 
not necessary, and, sometimes, even desirable; 
but we must be permitted to enter our solemn 
protest against the spirit with which it is too 
often conducted. Truth mav be defended, and 
error exposed, and, at the same time, a Christian 
spirit maintained. In the agitating controversy 
that exists among us, it cannot be denied that a 
spirit of bitterness has manifested itself, that has 
given pain to good men of every communion. 
The personalities that have been suffered to ob- 
trude themselves upon the notice of the public 
eye cannot but be regarded with disapprobation, 
by the truly liberal and catholic of every religious 



126 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

sect. The attempt to fasten upon the advocates 
of any system of religious belief opprobrious 
epithets, which they not only do not admit, but 
expressly deny, cannot be justified by candid, 
impartial men. 

Is there not a want of kindness and impar- 
tiality id representing each other's religious sen- 
timents; Are not opinions imputed to opposite 
sects, which they expressly disclaim, and results 
from their principles charged upon them, which 
they unhesitatingly disavow? Are not the most 
extravagant caricatures offered to the public, as 
correct representations of religious peculiarities? 
I do not mean to charge any with intentional 
misrepresentation, but is it not the case, that 
those, who would shrink from such an imputation, 
are in the habit of regarding the religious opinions 
of their brethren through the distorted medium of 
party prejudice ? It is wrong for any one sect 
to represent another as sectarian and exclusive, 
because they are not ready to admit that others 
are right as w r ell as themselves, and because they 
deem it inexpedient and improper to interchange 
the services of the sanctuary with those who 
differ from them in opinion on the leading doc- 
trines of the gospel. Nor is it right for those 
who believe that their brethren have embraced 



EL 5, MINISTER! \L 0OUETB81 . 1 27 

dangerous errors, to reproach them with the 
charge of infidelity, while thej acknowledge the 

inspiration and sufficiency of the scriptures* — 
Mutual recriminations and reflections ought to be 
carefully avoided in conducting religious contra- 
ry. They do no good, but produce much 
evil. The charge of bigotry, and intolerance, 
and exclusiveness, however loudly and widely 
vociferated, does not make us bigots and exclu- 
sionists, if we arc 4 honest and conscientious in 
our views of the difference between truth and 
error. Nor do the insinuations of deism and 
infidelity make us infidels, as long as we receive 
the holy scriptures as the rule of our faith and 
practice. 

These censorious epithets serve only to inflame 
the minds of the community, and to produce a 
spirit of bitterness and unkindness among the 
professed ministers of the gospel. Let them be 
put away from us; and in conducting a contro- 
versial press, if we must have one, let us avoid 
personalities, and severe and uncharitable reflec- 
tions upon each other. The cause of truth will 
lose nothing by a spirit of courtesy and mutual 
condescension. If some of our religious periodi- 
cals, and other controversial publications, could 
be expurgated from that strain of partial rep- 



128 MINISTERIAL COrilTESY. SER. 5. 

resentation and bitter invective* which has so 

Strongly characterized them, the cause to which 
they are devoted would be more effectually ad- 
vanced, and the great interests of truth and holi- 
ness and charity better promoted- 

Bot it is not only as regards the manner of 
conducting religious controversy from the press, 
that our text contains a salutary caution, it may 
be applied, with equal pertinency, 

3. To the services of the pulpit. 

" The Pulpit, in the sober use 
Of its legitimate peculiar powers, 

Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand. 
The meet important and effectual guard, 
Support and ornament of virtue's cause." 

J)ut how often is that consecrated place 
polluted with the bitter spirit of theological con- 
troversy ! The times have gone by in New 
England, when too many of our pulpits were 
devoted to the cause of political strife. Our 
ears are no longer pained with the praises and 
censures of the administration of our national 
government. But, if the clergy of Massachusetts 
have wisely ceased to preach political sermons, 
have they not unwisely indulged in theological 
controversy in the house of Cod ? We would 
not object to a calm, dispassionate discussion of 



SER. 5. HINIS it.ki IL COURTES! , 1 29 

disputed doctrines. We hold, that it is the duty 
of every faithful minister of the gospel to main- 
tain what he believes to be the truth of God, bj 
sound argument and persuasive eloquence. We 

are ready to allow that, in course of his minis- 
trations, he will feci it his duty to examine those 
points of theology, which arc most the subjects 
of controversy, with a view to establish his 
hearers in the truth of that system of faith 
which he believes to be most agreeable to the 
word of God. But we must object to the 
practice of making the pulpit the theatre for 
polemic war — of hurling from that sacred place 
anathemas and denunciations against those who 
embrace a different creed, or, what is not the 
less objectionable, because the more wary and 
insidious, of conjuring up a man of straw, in the 
distempered imagination of the preacher, and 
then giving him a name of some opposite sect, in 
language too plain to be misunderstood. 

The habit, in which there is reason to fear 
some indulge, of preaching against other sects in 
terms of bitter invective or contemptuous ridicule, 
is calculated to do unspeakable injury, and to keep 
alive in the community that spirit of animosity, 
which tends to blight our social and domestic 
happiness, and to widen the breach which a dif- 
17 



130 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

ference of opinion may have occasioned. Instead 
of preaching against other denominations, would 
it not more comport with our character as am- 
bassadors of Heaven, to preach what we honestly 
believe to be the doctrines of the gospel — to 
exhibit those plain and simple truths which com- 
mend themselves to every man's conscience in 
the sight of God — to exhort sinners to flee from 
the wrath to come, and to lay hold on the hope 
set before them? The noble resolution of Paul, 
is worthy the imitation of every minister of 
Christ. I determined to know nothing among 
you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. There 
is enough in that great and momentous subject 
to occupy the whole time of the faithful preacher, 
and to leave none for angry controversy, illiberal 
reflections, and ungenerous misrepresentations. 

The spirit of our text may be still further ap- 
plied to those who sustain the ministerial office, 

4. In their intercourse with each other in 
private life. 

It is unfeignedly to be lamented that a differ- 
ence of opinion on religious subjects should pro- 
duce feelings of personal coldness and unfriendly 
aspect among the; professed ministers of the 
gospeL It is true the same kind and degree of 
union cannot be expected to exist among those, 



SER. 5. IflNISTER] \r. I 01 Rl E81 . 131 

who widely differ in religious opinion, is among 
those who speak the Bame thing, and are per- 
fectly joined together in the same mind and in 
the same judgment. Bui there is no reason why 
ministers, who may differ essentially in their re- 
ligious belief, should not treat each other with 
respect, with courtesy, and with kindness. This 
is demanded of them, as members of society, 
as men of education who are supposed to be 
acquainted with what belongs to propriety of 
manners and correctness of deportment, and. 
especially, as professedly sustaining the same 
high and honorable office in the church of God. 
This kindness of feeling and courtesy of manners 
is entirely consistent with the most perfect de- 
cision of sentiment and independence of character. 
It is not necessary to renounce any of our pecu- 
liarities, nor to alter our course of conduct as 
regards the distinguishing points of theological 
controversy, in order to cultivate that freedom 
from bitterness and that exercise of kindness 
enjoined in the text. 

Many are the occasions in which ministers of 
an opposite faith are thrown into each other's 
society, and it is not unfrequently the case that 
they are associated w ith each other by some of 
the most endeared connections and charities of 



132 MINISTERIAL COURTES\ SER. 5. 

life. While, then, they maintain with iirmiu 
their respective peculiarities, and give the weight 
of their talents and influence to the cause which 
they conscientiously prefer, they ought to cherish 
feelings of mutual kindness, and embrace every 
opportunity to manifest this disposition in the 
social intercourse of life. Such opportunities are 
constantly occurring for the exercise of kind and 
benevolent feelings among ministers of a different 
faith. In the various relations of life, their con- 
gregations are frequently so intermingled, as 
occasionally to bring them together in the house 
of rejoicing and in the house of mourning. Is it 
not desirable that, instead of that cold and formal 
distance w hich is so often observed, they should 
meet each other with the smile of courtesy and 
the tear of sympathy ? Nor are their own fami- 
lies exempt from affliction, nor free from the 
visits of that messenger who is no respecter of 
persons or of creeds. Are the sympathies of 
ministers to be restrained to those of their breth- 
ren who coincide with them in religious belief? 
Have we no bowels of compassion towards those 
who bleed under the stroke of divine Providence, 
because they are called by a different name and 
worship in a different temple? Is it not practica- 
ble, to interchange the kind offices of sympathy 



;. .*>. mHf8TBRIA] COURTESY* 133 

and friendship, and yet retain our peculiarities 
and our different pursuit 

Bui it is not merelj in the ordinary courtesi 
pf life that I would inculcate upon my ministerial 
brethren the spirit enjoined in our text We are 
hound by it to be tender of each other's reputa- 
tion. That man is indeed a bigot, who has no 
ud for any but those who bekmg to his own 
i. and that man is worse than a bigot — I know 
not where to find language strong enough to 
express my abhorrence of his character — who can 
listen to false reports, unfavorable to the good 
name of his neighbor and especially his brother 
in the ministry, because he belongs to a sect 
different and opposite from his own. How ready 
are men to defend the characters of those who 
are connected with their own party, while they 
can fegard with indifference, if not with compla- 
cency, the vile aspersions and base calumnies 
that are cast upon those who are active in the 
propagation of what they believe to be the truth 
of the gospel ! Are there none among those 
from whom better things ought to be expected, 
who, when as in the days of Jeremiah defama- 
tion was heard on every side, have been ready to 
. Ueport, and we will report it? A tender 
regard for the good name of our ministerial 



134 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

brethren, however widely they may differ from 
us in religious belief, ought to be sacredly cher- 
ished, and all attempts to injure their deserved 
reputation, with a view to lessen their influence 
in the community, to be met with the indignant 
frown of marked disapprobation. 

The religious principles of distinguished men, 
however erroneous and dangerous they may be 
considered, ought not to derogate from their 
literary fame. While we may deplore their 
errors as theologians, we may eulogize their 
merit as scholars, and feel a laudable satisfaction 
in the credit reflected by their literary labors 
upon the land of their birth. Nor is the preten- 
sion, that is sometimes boastingly made, to a 
monopoly of talent and learning, less offensive and 
disgusting. That eye must be jaundiced indeed, 
which can see no intellectual and moral excellence 
in any but those who wear the livery of its own 
sect, and that sensibility peculiarly morbid, that 
is not alive to the display of talent, the command 
of learning, and the force of eloquence, from the 
ranks of those who are enlisted under a different 
banner in the religious world. The Jewish prov- 
erb is too often adopted, Can any good thing 
come out of Nazareth ? It is time that this 
narrowness of party was laid aside, and that a 



u. 5. MINISTERIAL C0URTE8T. 136 

disposition was manifested to do justice to talents, 
and learnings and worth, in whatever religious 
community thej may be found. The trulj liberal 
man will take more pleasure in yielding this just 

tribute to those who differ from him, than to 
those who agree with him in opinion. He w ill 
not suffer the dust of party strife to blind his 
eyes to the discernment of merit in a theological 
opponent, but will readily acknowledge his ability, 
and candidly appreciate his motives. Such a 
spirit would tend much to soften the asperity of 
theological controversy, and to promote feelings 
of mutual kindness among those who conscien- 
tiously differ in religious opinion. This spirit the 
professed ministers of the gospel are bound, by 
the most powerful motives, to cultivate. 

1. The peace and welfare of society demand 
it. 

I have already adverted to the intermingling 
of the various relations of life in our respective 
congregations. It is not unfrequently the case, 
that members of the same family worship at 
different altars. We pause not to justify or 
condemn such a course. It is with the fact 
alone, that we are now concerned. How im- 
portant is it to the peace and comfort of those 
families, who are thus situated, that the spirit 



136 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

enjoined in the text should be maintained by theii 
respective teachers and religious guides! — It is 
to be lamented, that, from a neglect of this spirit, 
the most unhappy effects arc often experienced 
in the domestic circle. From those whom they 
June been habituated to regard with a reverence 

perhaps too sacred, and with a credence too im- 
plicit, manv families are accustomed to receive 
impressions respecting the faith of others, and of 
those too whom they should highly respect and 
tenderly love, which future time and better in- 
formation will never entirely efface. The peace 
and welfare of our community loudly call upon 
those who minister at the altar, to refrain from 
bitter reviling, and to cultivate a spirit of mutual 
courtesy and kindness. Many are sick at heart 
of the bitter and contentious spirit which so much 
prevails. From scenes of polemic strife they 
would gladly escape, exclaiming in the language 
of the Psalmist, Oh that I had wings like a dove, 
for then would I fly away and he at rest. But 
does it not depend in a very great degree upon 
ministers themselves, whether this unhappy state 
of excitement shall continue: — Would not a gen* 
era! compliance with the spirit of the text tend, 
more than any thing else, to allay this controver- 



>i;k. .">. KIN 181 KR1 \i. con; i i>\ . 13*3 

sial fermentation, ami like the salt in Elisha't 

cruise heal these deadlj waters ? 

We do not ask you to relinquish a single point. 

of doctrine, nor to countenance a single error. 

directly or indirectly. We do not plead for in- 
terchange of ministerial labor, for we believe, 
that among those w ho differ so widely, it is both 

inexpedient and injurious, — but we do urge upon 
you, as you regard tin 4 sweet charities of domes* 
tic life, as you appreciate the advantages of 
unimbittered social intercourse, and as you value 

the peace of the community — to put away from 
you all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and 
clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice ; and 
to be kind one to another. 

2. Another motive for cultivating the spirit 
enjoined in the text, may be found in the 
respect due to our own characters, as professed 
ambassadors of the Prince of peace. 

We have all of us, my brethren, been solemnly 
set apart to the sacred work of the gospel min- 
istry, and although we may differ widely in our 
views of religious truth, we have been introduced 
by the rites of ordination into the same office. 
As engaged in the same profession, we are bound 
to treat each other with respect and courtesy. 
We may differ as to the qualifications for this 
18 



138 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. 

high and sacred office, but we are not justified in 
discovering any other spirit towards those from 
Whom we differ, than that of kindness and good 
will. While we claim the liberty of thinking 
and acting for ourselves, let us not use our 
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but, by love, 
let us serve one another, for all the law is ful- 
filled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself: but if we bite and 
devour one another, let us take heed that we be 
not consumed one of another. If we would 
regard our own characters, and the character of 
our profession, let us cultivate the spirit enjoined 
in the text. 

Finally, as a solemn and powerful motive for 
the cultivation of this spirit, let us reflect on our 
accountability to the Master whom we profess to 
serve, and at whose bar, with unnumbered mil- 
lions, we must soon appear to give an account of 
our ministry. 

In our professional services we often direct the 
attention of our people to that eventful day, 
when the secrets of all hearts shall be made 
manifest, and every one rewarded according to 
bis works. At that dread tribunal, we, too, 
reverend fathers and brethren, must stand, and 
be called to give an account, not only of the 



SKR. 5. MINISTERIAL C0URTB8T. 139 

manner in which we have discharged our duty to 
the flocks committed to our care, but also of the 
spirit we have cherished and manifested towards 
h other. Oh, my brethren, how awful is our 
Responsibility ! If, as our Lord expressly assures 
us, men shall give account in the day of judg- 
ment of every idle word they shall speak, what 
a solemn account will they have to give, who, ia 
the heat of theological controversy, have not 
only uttered many idle words, but have indulged 
in unkind and censorious remarks upon their 
brethren in the ministry ! 

The subject, which has now engaged our at- 
tention, will be generally acknowledged to be 
important and seasonable. It is the sincere 
desire of the preacher to have his own soul 
imbued with the spirit he has recommended to 
others. He has spoken freely and fearlessly, 
without regard to sect or party. He has felt 
that the times required that some one should lift 
up his voice against the bitter and acrimonious 
spirit that has disgraced our theological contro- 
versy. In the discharge of this duty he is not 
conscious of being actuated by any other motive 
than an ardent desire to allay the violence of 
party strife. He is convinced that peace and 



[40 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 6k 

quietness are not to be obtained by a vain attempt 
to unite those who are so widely separated in 
religious belief — but by an agreement to differ, 

and a readiness to allow eaeh other, in all its 
ge ner ous extent, the right of private judgment* 
Many of the evils we so much lament, if he is 

not mistaken, have been occasioned by a disre- 
gard of this important principle) and by an 

attempt to enforce, if not a uniformity of faith, 
an acknowledgment of the innocency and safety 
of error. When men w r ill be content to allow 
others to think they may have embraced dan- 
gerous errors, without heaping upon them terms 
of unmeasured reproach and obloquy, and when 
those w ho view their brethren as holding doc- 
trines that are unsafe, or rejecting those that are 
important, shall learn to treat them with courtesy 
and kindness, and manifest towards them feelings 
of tender solicitude and affectionate interest — 
then, and not till then, may we hope to see those 
dark and portentous clouds of party strife, which 
now hang lowering over our churches, dissipated 
by the mild and cheering radiance of the Sun of 
Righteousness. 

The importance of my subject must be my 
apology, for having so long detained this large 



EL 5. mitlSTEBl l£ 1 0URTE81 . 1 I 1 

and respectable audience from carrying into effect 
the t ml \ benevolent purpose, which 1 doubt not 
bas brought them together. Of the numerous 

charities for which our times are distinguished, I 
know of no one more unexceptionable, than that 

to which I now have the honored privilege of 
inviting your attention. Having been long, offi- 
cially, concerned in the appropriation of the 

charities of this Convention, I have had occasion 
to know much of the circumstances of those, in 
whose behalf w e now solicit your charitable aid. 
They have seen better and brighter days. From 
the important stations which their departed guar- 
dians were called to fill, they have been conver- 
sant witli the most refined society, and have been 
surrounded, not only with the necessaries, but 
with the comforts of life. The removal of those 
on whom they so confidently leaned, has thrown 
them into obscurity, and, in many instances, with- 
drawn that pecuniary aid which was necessary for 
a decent and comfortable maintenance. Living, 
now, in great seclusion and retirement, they have 
little other earthly resource, than the annual 
charity of this Convention, to which they habitu- 
ally look forward with confiding trust, and always 
receive with heartfelt gratitude. 

In this charity we ean all unite. The appeal 



142 MINISTERIAL COURTESY'. SER. 5. 

which we now make in behalf of the poor and 
lonely, and, in many instances, infirm and aged 
widows of our departed brethren, I am persuaded 
will not be in vain. No liberal, ingenuous mind 
will withhold or lessen his contribution, because 
their cause is advocated by one of a different 
faith. The thought cannot — shall not be indulged 
for a moment. In the appropriation of the funds 
of the Convention, and of the Congregational 
Charitable Society, I take great pleasure in 
stating, from personal knowledge, that the most 
perfect impartiality has ever been observed. It 
has never been made a question, and I trust it 
never will be, to what religious party the recipi- 
ents of this sacred charity belong. It is enough, 
that they are widows and need our aid. On this 
broad ground, my beloved friends, we can meet, 
if on no other. On this altar of charity, then, 
let us unite in offering our gifts, — and let the only 
strife and controversy be, who shall do most to 
make the widow's heart sing for joy. 



143 



SERMON VI. 



THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD 



JEREMIAH iv. 6. 

Set up the standard toward Zion. 

On occasions like the present, when we behold 
our civil fathers and our military guardians as- 
sembled in the temple of the Most High, it has 
been usual for the preacher of the day to avail 
himself of the political relations of this country 
with the powers of Europe, to furnish an appro- 
priate subject of discourse. Nor has it been 
difficult in times past, from the peculiar and in- 
teresting state both of this and other countries, 
to select such themes as were calculated to stim- 
ulate the soldier to the discharge of his duty, 
and to interest the citizen in the defence of his 



1 I I THE CHRISTIJJJ STANDARD. 9ER« (J. 

liberties and rights. But, blessed be the God of 
peace, no such themes now present themselves 
for our consideration. We DO longer hear of 
wars and rumors of wars. The individual, whose 
name once spread terror through the nations, is 
forgotten in the distant isle of the ocean, and, 
were it not that he lives to publish to the world 
the 1 record of his deeds, we should almost have 
imagined his bloody career to have been but a 
terfific vision of the night, so completely has the 
sun of universal peace dissipated the darkness 
and gloom, which but lately overspread the po- 
litical horizon. 

The state of our own country does not now, 
as on former occasions, excite any other emotions 
than those of gratitude and praise for our inesti- 
mable privileges and unparalleled blessings. We 
have not now to burnish our arms for war, nor to 
dread the disruption of our rising empire by any 
unhappy divisions among ourselves. One heart 
and one soul now animates our republic ; party 
spirit exists in no greater degree than, perhaps, is 
necessary to the security of our political institu- 
tions; and the days of Washington seem to have 
returned, when the chair of the national execu- 
tive is filled by the man whom the people delight 
to honor. 



SER. 6. THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD* 145 

Such being the pacific state of the world, and 
what benevolent heart does not pray that it may 
be perpetual, maj I be permitted to select a 
subject, more adapted to the period in which it is 
our happiness to live, and more congenial to the 
feelings of the friends of peace and of /ion. 

We will not enlarge upon the connection in 
which the words, prefixed to this discourse, stand 
in the chapter from which they are taken. It is 
sufficient to observe that they are capable of an 
interesting application to the occasion of this 
meeting. While they recognize the military 
character, they direct our attention, by the type 
to which they refer, to the true Zion, the church 
of God. 

It is not our purpose, like the Hermit in the 
eleventh century, to stir up the flame of a holy 
war, and to induce you to carry your arms to 
Palestine for the recovery of the city of God. It 
is to a nobler warfare that we would stimulate 
you, to a higher prize that we would direct your 
attention, a better cause in which we would 
engage your efforts. Let it be, then, the de- 
lightful business of this morning, to consider the 
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom as well 
deserving the attention of military men. Let us 
set up the standard toward Zion. 
19 



1 46 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

It is our privilege to live in an age and period 
of the world, when unusual efforts arc making for 
the spread of the gospel. The prophecies of holy 
writ respecting the extension of the kingdom of 
the Prince of peace are rapidly fulfilling. Already 
docs the banner of the cross wave over lands 
which were but recently under the dominion of 
the great enemy of mankind. On the ruins of 
pagan idolatry we behold the church of God arise 
in all its beauty, and in all its glory. The war 
whoop of the savage is succeeded by the hymn of 
praise for redeeming love; and those, who once 
sacrificed their helpless offspring to the modern 
Moloch 9 have learnt to offer to the true Jehovah 
the sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart. 
The islands of the southern ocean have been 
Visited with the light of heaven, and a change, 
as great as it is wonderful, has been effected in 
their manners, their customs, their habits, their 
religion. In this astonishing revolution, Chris- 
tianity and civilization have gone hand in hand ; 
and the same men, that taught the once besotted 
islander the knowledge of the true God and 
Saviour, have also instructed him in the practice 
of husbandry and the mechanical arts. To idle* 

s, sensuality, murder and vice of every kind, 
have succeeded industry, chastity, sobriety and 



SER. 6. mi: CHRISTIAN BTAHDABD. 141 

the feai of God. The Sabbath is observed with 
■ regularity and propriety that would shame 

inaii\ Christian lands, and the duty of public 

prayer attended with a fervor and devotion wor- 
thy the imitation of all who call upon the name 

of the Lord. 

The kingdom of the Prince of peace is rapidly 
extending its benign influence over the earth. 
That ancient people, to whom were committed 
the oracles of God, and to whom we are so 
deeply indebted for their preservation, begin to 
excite the commiseration and to call forth the 
exertions of the Christian world. In this be- 
nevolent work our own country has taken an 
active and important part. She has indeed set 
up the standard toward Zion, and sent forth her 
soldiers, clad with the whole armor of God, 
having their loins girt about with truth, having 
on the breastplate of righteousness, and their feet 
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, 
taking the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, 
and the sword of the Spirit, and bearing for their 
standard the cross of Christ. They have began 
their march to the holy land, followed by the 
prayers of thousands ; and, as the weapons of 
their warfare are not carnal, we may hope that 
they will prove mighty, through God, to the 



148 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

pulling down of strong holds, casting down 
imaginations and every high thing that exalteth 
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing 

into captivity every thought to the obedience of 
Christ. 

In connection with the missionary spirit that 
characterizes the period of the world in which 
We live, it is proper to notice the efforts that 
have been made and are now making, for the 
extensive and universal dissemination of the word 
of life. Whatever difference of opinion may pos- 
sibly be entertained on the subject of missions, 
we are confident that but one sentiment exists in 
this audience, respecting the duty of all to unite 
in the godlike undertaking of distributing the 
sacred volume, that only standard of our faith 
and practice. It is now sixteen years since the 
bright thought was conceived of the gratuitous 
distribution of the scriptures, without note or 
comment ; and from this period we may date a 
new era in the history of the Christian world. 
To this single event, we believe, may be traced, 
more than to any other, the wonderful revolution 
that has taken place in the opinions of men on 
the subject of war. Although, during that period, 
it is true, many bloody and destructive battles 
have been fought, it should be remembered that 



BER« 6« THE CHRIST] \N BT \M> MM). 1 VJ 

the effects of such a system cannot be fell in a 
moment. We are now beginning to experience 
its happy influence; and we have no doubt, that 
when the Bible shall be sent to every dwelling, 
and its blessed contents to every heart, the whole 
world will regard its pacific principles, and learn 
war no more. 

In considering the rapid progress of the king- 
dom of Christ, neither our own feelings, nor a 
regard to the occasion which has given rise to our 
subject, will suffer us to pass unnoticed the efforts, 
which have recently been made by Peace Socie- 
ties, for spreading through the community just 
views of the subject of war. Perhaps there was 
no subject on which the public mind needed to 
be more enlightened. Christian nations, for cen- 
turies past, have thought it not only necessary, 
but just, to engage in offensive war ; and the 
rulers of the earth have declared and waged war 
with the same unconcern and indifference, that 
they would pass a tariff bill, or appropriate a 
pension. They seem to have forgotten that the 
lives of their constituents, and, more especially, 
that their precious souls, were of any value. 
They appear to have been utterly unmindful of 
the solemn account which they must give at the 
day of retribution, for letting loose the scourge 



160 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

of war upon a peaceful country, and exposing the 
lives and happiness of thousands of their fellow- 
creatures to the horrors of military violence. 
But, now, different views appear to actuate those, 
upon whose decision rests the all-important ques- 
tion of war or peace. The resort to arms is not 
advocated until every other resort fails ; and it is 
in the last extremity alone, when all reasonable 
efforts have been made to prevent it, that we may 
hope that a Christian nation will declare war. 
The prevalence of principles so congenial to the 
spirit of Christianity, so dear to the heart of 
every good man, is one of the happy peculiarities 
of the age in which we live ; and those, who by 
their exertions and influence have contributed to 
produce it, deserve the everlasting gratitude of 
mankind. Among these benefactors of the hu- 
man race, posterity will not fail to record the 
name of the friend of peace* who has done 
more than any other individual to disseminate 
these pacific principles, and who, by his exertions 
in this blessed cause, has shown us, that the best 
news of the Bible is, Peace on earth and good 
will to men. 

Among the great events which indicate the 

1 Ilev. Noah Worcester, D. D. 



sek. (>. Tin: CHRISTIAN st\nd\kd. 161 

iocteafting prosperity of Zion, we hail with Batis- 
(action) the intelligence] which has recently been 
received] of the abolition of that dread tribunal] 
the bloody Inquisition) the history of whoso 
horrors is enough to chill the heart of every 
friend of humanity. 

It is a source of no ordinary congratulation 
that the land of bigotry and despotism is at last 
rousing from its fatal lethargy, and assuming a 
rank among the free and independent nations of 
the earth. So important a revolution, effected 
in so peaceable a manner, must be regarded as 
favorable to the cause of truth; and we cannot 
but indulge the hope that, with the abolition of 
the holy office, the blind attachment to a national 
creed will give place to more enlightened views 
of religion — that the protestant principle of the 
sufficiency of the scriptures and the right of 
private judgment, will be acknowledged in that 
part of Christendom, which has so long been the 
seat of papal authority and blind credulity. 

In the view we are taking of the advancing 
cause of religion, we would not omit to notice 
the efforts that have in many parts of the world 
been successfully made to abolish that inhuman 
traffic — the slave trade ; and we had hoped to 
have been enabled, this day, to have boasted of 



152 thi: christian standard; ber. (i. 

the part which our own country had taken in 
this cause of freedom. But our expectations 
have beeo disappointed — and the toleration of 
slavery by a free government, remains a solecism 
in the history of republics, and an indelible blot 
upon our national character. Blush my country 
at this record in your history! Was there no 
Wilberforce in our national councils, to have 
boldly espoused the cause of freedom, and, by 
the power of his eloquence, to have exhibited 
the gross inconsistency of holding a single slave 
in this land of boasted liberty and independence? 
Must it be proclaimed to the world that in this 
free and happy country, this asylum for the 
oppressed, the basis of whose government is 
the acknowledgment of equal liberties and rights, 
it was impossible to obtain the consent of its 
legislature to the restriction of slavery in admit- 
ting a new member into the confederacy? 

Yes. we must weep over this stain in the fair 
reputation of our country. But we will not 
despair. We cannot think that the time that 
has been spent by the representatives of a free 
people in the discussion of this important ques- 
tion, has been altogether lost. It has, doubtless, 
led to much information and to enlarged views 
of a most interesting subject; and we belic\e 



)\. (!. i in: CHRIST! Ill - I \m> \kd. 169 

that the period is not far distant, when, as ;i 
nation who struggled and fought for liberty and 
the rights of man, we shall be sensible of the 
strange incongruity of encouraging slavery, and 
nobly resolve that we will, in the strictest sense, 
he free, as w ell as independent. 

Thus is the kingdom of the Prince of peace 
rapidly advancing and extending its benign in- 
fluence over the habitable world. In this pleas- 
ing, this animating prospect, what friend of Zion, 
what friend of humanity, does not feel the live- 
liest interest: and can 1 doubt, for a moment, 
that those of this respected audience, whose 
brilliant and warlike appearance this day remind 
us that they are ready to obey the call of their 
country, and to wield the sword in her defence, 
embrace with satisfaction the opportunity afforded 
bv tin 1 general pacification of the world, to turn 
their attention to nobler objects and higher pur- 
suits, than the field of battle and the art of war? 
They surely cannot remain unconcerned spec- 
tators of the great and glorious events that are 
taking place in the world, although they are 
calculated to lessen the demands upon their ser- 
vices in the field. In common with us all, they 
art 4 interested in the general spread of the gospel, 
and, as Christian soldiers, they ought ever to 
20 



154 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

remember that nothing but dire necessity can 
justify the use of arms, and that cessation of 
war, in consequence of the prevalence of Chris- 
tian principle, is an event greatly to be desired 
by every good man. They will not view the 
subject under consideration as unworthy their 
notice, if thev reflect on the magnitude and im- 
portance of the themes that have passed under 
review, and of the lively interest which they 
begin to excite in the hearts of those, whose 
exalted stations and commanding influence give 
weight to their opinions and sanction to their 
conduct. In the cause of religion we behold, 
with no inconsiderable satisfaction, one of the 
greatest monarehs in Europe, the Emperor of 
Russia, engaging with a decision and ardor that 
deserves the highest commendation, cheerfully 
affording the patronage of royalty to the benevo- 
lent exertions of the present day, in spreading 
the word of life and in diffusing correct sentiments 
on the subject of war. 

Animated by such high and brilliant examples, 
Christian soldiers, will you not enlist under their 
banners, and set up the standard toward Zion ? 
The happy period has arrived, when higher and 
nobler objects invite* our attention than are to be 
found in the pursuits of military ambition. Were 



sf.k. thi; un;i?ii\N Si\ni>\ki». 1 

the principles of the gospel generally embraced, 
happy would be the I upon the state of tin 4 

world at large and the military character in par- 
ticular. It must be acknowledged^ however 
reluctantly, that the pi a soldier ifl by 

no means favorable to the cultivation of religions 

principles and feelings* It is attended with manv 

and peculiar temptations* The crafuskw of the 

camp is unfavorable to demotion. The frequency 

of scenes of blood and slaughter, bas a tendency 

to blunt our sensibility, and the little regard paid 
to human life, to lessen our attention to the im- 
mortal part which cannot perish in the field of 
battle. And. above all. the false ideas of honor, 
which, we lament to say, are >tiirattached to the 
military profession, are calculated to weaken the 
sense of moral obligation, and are often the occa- 
sion of atrocious crime and unutterable misery 
and distress* When will the happy period arrive, 
when that man will be considered truly honorable, 
who fears God rather than man, who dread-. 
more than the finger of scorn, the frown of the 
Almislitv ! 

Our thoughts naturally revert, on this occasion, 
to scenes which throw a dark shade upon the 
bright picture we have been exhibiting, and c 
a cloud upon the festivities of this anniversarv. 



156 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

We could have wished, had it been possible, to 
have forgotten the melancholy fact, that the pa. 
of our history is again stained wit h the record of 

the blood of one of the heroes of our country; 
shed, not in defence of her liberties and rights, 
but in yielding to a false sense of honor, in com- 
pliance with a barbarous custom of a barbarous 
age. Nor should we have adverted to an event, 
which (ills the breast of every Christian patriot 
with undissembled pain, did we not feel it an in- 
dispensable duty to embrace this opportunity, not 
only to bear our testimony against the crime of 
duelling, but to call upon the members of this 
most ancient military association, to interpose the 
weight of their influence and example to check 
the prevalence of a practice, so offensive to 
Heaven, so disgraceful to our nature, so abhor- 
rent to the feelings of humanity, so productive 
of domestic wretchedness, of private wo, and of 
public shame. It is asked what can be done to 
prevent the prevalence of a custom, which all, 
even duellists themselves, reprobate in theory, 
but which lew, if any, have the courage to 
decline in practice? Much we believe might be 
done, and much would be done, if those, to whom 
we look for legislative and executive authority, 
would exert the power committed to them, and 



BER. * ; . i Hi- CHRIS II \N 9T LND IRD, 157 

brim: to merited punishmenl all who thus openly 
violate the laws of God and man. Uut we are 
aware thai something more is necessary to check 
this growing, this alarming evil. 'The best of 
laws will be of little use until a revolution in 
public opinion is effected. Duelling must be 
considered disgraceful, before it will be aban- 
doned bv those who claim the character of hon- 
orable men. As long as our first men in state 
and arms give the sanction of their example to 
this bloody usa^e, what can we expect of the 
multitude 4 who are always influenced by the con- 
duct of their superiors ? Had Hamilton and 
Decatur nobly declined a challenge, while it 
would have raised them high in the opinion of 
every friend of religion and virtue, and spared 
their eminently useful lives to a grateful country, 
it would have done more than any system of 
jurisprudence to have laid aside this relic of a 
feudal age. All that can now be done is for 
those of our great men, who may be placed in 
similar circumstances, to resolve, by the force of 
their example, to give a new current to public 
sentiment and feeling. And who can do this to 
greater advantage than the gentlemen, who com- 
pose this ancient and honorable company, which 
enrols in its list of members some of our first civil 



158 Tin: christian standard. ser. 6. 

and military characters ? Were an association, so 

highly respectable, so truly honorable, to proclaim 
their united suffrage against this inhuman prac- 
tice, were they not only to speak, but to act, 
much might be done towards effecting a revo- 
lution in the public mind on this important 
subject. 

AVe know not that a single instance of duelling 
stains the fair record of this respected company, 
and we devoutly hope that no such blot may ever 
be found on its register. Let the fear of Jehovah 
influence your actions. Let the example of the 
brave hero of Prestonpans be brought to your 
recollection, " who, after his remarkable conver- 
sion, declined accepting a challenge ; — with his 
calm reply, which," says his biographer, " in a 
man of his experienced bravery, was exceeding 
graceful. ' I fear sinning, though you know I do 
not fear fighting. 5 " The prevalence of true reli- 
gion would soon counteract the influence of these 
false views of honor. The courtesy which the 
gospel enjoins, would prevent occasions of offence, 
and, when offence was inconsiderately given, the 
spirit of forgiveness, which Christianity incul- 
cates, would immediately heal the breach, and 
supersede the necessity of a resort to arms. 
Surely then every Christian soldier will ardently 



SEK. G. THE CHRISTIAN STAND \RI>. 159 

desire the advancement of the Redeemer's king- 
dom — he will rejoice in all the efforts that are 
making for tin* spread of .the gospel — he will 

cheerfully set up the standard toward /ion. 

In directing the attention of this audience to 
the advancing kingdom of the Prince of peace, I 
may be thought by some, to have selected a 
theme foreign from the occasion of this meeting; 
and, were I called to address none but soldiers, 
who have no higher motives of action than those 
which spring from a thirst for military glory, I 
might, without doubt, have selected a subject 
more consonant to their taste and feelings. But 
I have not forgotten that I am addressing Chris- 
tians, as well as soldiers, the descendants of the 
Puritans of New England, who w r ould have re- 
joiced to have seen the things which we see, and 
to have heard the things w T hich we hear. But, 
although eminent themselves for personal piety, 
they lived in a period of the world when the 
great religious objects, which now excite atten- 
tion, were but partially understood. With what 
delight would the Cottons, and Mathers, and 
other holy men, who once filled our places in 
these churches, and animated the zeal of our 
fathers on these occasions, had they been per- 
mitted to have looked down the vale of time, 



1G0 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

have beheld the enlightened efforts of the present 
age, to diffuse the knowledge of the word of life, 
to lessen the horrors of war, to advance the 
kingdom of the Saviour, and to ameliorate the 
condition of man! May their posterity, while 
they improve the privileges which they were 
denied, ever retain that purity of faith, that 
devotedness to religion, that holiness of life, for 
which they were distinguished. 

The descendants of such an ancestry will 
surely not consider the advancing cause of true 
religion as an unappropriate subject on the present 
occasion, but will rejoice that they live to see the 
dav, when, instead of being called to defend their 
civil rights and liberties with the sword, they 
may set up the standard toward Zion, and turn 
their attention to the progress of that blessed 
religion, which not only excites the interest of 
the pious on earth, but is regarded with peculiar 
complacency by saints in glory, by angels around 
the throne, and by the Eternal himself. 

From the view we have taken of the progress 
which true religion is making in the world, of 
the extension of divine knowledge, of the preva- 
lence of correct sentiments on the subject of war, 
and of the pacific spirit which now appears to 
actuate the nations of the earth, what benevolent 



SBR< & i hi: CHRIS 1 1 \.n I i IND \ki>. 161 

heart does not rejoice in the auspicious circum- 
stances of the period in which it is our happiness 

to live! May we not indulge the pleasing 

thought, that the days predicted by the spirit 
of prophecy are rapidly approaching, when the 

mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- 
lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be 
exalted above the hills, and all nations shall 
How unto it. And many people shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain 
of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; 
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will 
walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth 
the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. And he shall judge among the nations, 
and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall 
beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift 
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn 
war any more. 

Still, however, we do not suppose, although 
we may be drawing near the millennial day, 
that it has actually arrived, nor, much as we 
desire universal peace, do we flatter ourselves 
that the weapons of war are yet literally to be 
converted into implements of husbandry. We 
must be allowed, as long as society remains in 
21 



1()J THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. 3ER. 6. 

its present state, to maintain tlic opinion, that 
defensive war may be both lawful and expedient. 
When our altars and firesides — all that we hold 
dear in domestic or civil life — are exposed to an 
invading foe, we are not prepared) as men or as 
Christians, to advocate the doctrine of passive 
submission. We believe that lie, who once led 
tin 1 armies of Israel, who taught the hands of 
their king to war and his fingers to fight, hath 
made it our duty to defend, with force of arms, 
the country of our birth, and the government of 
our choice. 

We. therefore, highly appreciate the impor- 
tance of military science, and cannot too much 
admire that system of military discipline, which, 
while it relieves ns from all the evils attendant 
on a standing army, and a profession exclusively 
that of arms, provides for the defence of our 
liberties and rights, by the general diffusion of 
the knowledge of the military art, through all 
elapses of the community. While the brilliancy 
of this occasion reminds us, that our citizens can 
be soldiers an hen necessity requires, their return 
to the peaceful duties and important avocations 
of civil life, assures us that their swords will 
never be drawn but in defence of their country. 

Among our military associations, the company 



SER. (i. rHB CHRISTIAN STANDARD. IBS 

whose anniversarj we this dajr observe, holds a 
high and important rank. Ancient, indeed) if 
we consider the date of its charter, and honor- 
able if we review the list of its members; 
among whom it ranks, with no inconsiderable 
pride, our illustrious commander in chief, who 
has repeatedly received the highest honors of the 
company, and who is again called, with increas- 
ing suffrages, to the highest honors of the com- 
monwealth. From his hands will those, who 
are this day, agreeably to ancient usage, to be 
invested with office, receive their badges of com- 
mand with peculiar satisfaction. We cannot but 
congratulate the friends of peace and of religion, 
that, in the executive authority of the State, is 
associated with the soldier and the statesman, 
the philanthropist and the friend of Zion, whose 
pious benevolence and extensive liberalities in 
forwarding the great objects that have this day- 
passed in review, will be remembered with grati- 
tude by generations to come. With such men 
for our rulers, whose respect to our religious 
institutions endear them to the friends of peace, 
we may look forward, with lively confidence, 
to the continuance of our inestimable privileges 
and to the increasing prosperity of our beloved 
country. 






164 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

Gentlemen of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- 
lery Company, — 

It is with peculiar satisfaction, that wo meet 
you in the sanctuary of God. Few scenes are 
more interesting than that which we now behold. 
The sword rests in its scabbard — the thunder of 
the cannon has ceased — the military standard is 
furled — the nodding plume is laid aside — and the 
soldier is lost in the humble sinner, kneeling 
before the throne of God, and acknowledging his 
dependence upon the arm of the Most High. 

We cannot too highly commend the practice, 
so long continued, of mingling whh the martial 
and brilliant exercises of this day, the solemn 
duties of religion. Your grateful acknowledg- 
ments are due to that kind Providence, by whose 
care you behold another anniversary. — One of 
your associates and compatriots, the venerable 
WlNBLOW has, during the past year, finished his 
mortal course. By his departure, you are re- 
minded of your own frailty. — These splendid 
habiliments must soon be laid aside for the shroud, 
and the spirits which now animate these taberna- 
cles of clay, must ascend to the tribunal of God. 
Happy is that soldier, who, at the approach of 
dissolution, can exclaim, I have fought a good 



u. 6. mi: CHRISTIAN STANDARD* 166 

fight. For him a crown of righteousness is 
ruserred, that fadeth not awaj . 

In view of the solemn realities of futurity, 
how fading and transitory docs the glory of the 
world appear, and how interesting and important 
do those subjects become, which have this morn- 
ing engaged your attention ! As Christians, you 
cannot pant for war, and as Christians, we cannot 
desire that you may ever again have the opportu- 
nity of signalizing your courage and trying your 
arms in the held of battle. But clouds and 
darkness rest upon the future. Our most san- 
guine expectations may all be disappointed. 
Unforeseen events may again call us to engage 
in war. and imperious circumstances may justify 
the measure in the sight of God and man. In 
which case, citizen soldiers, we have the most 
perfect confidence in your courage and patriotism. 
We have no doubt that the spirit which once 
actuated our fathers, when they fought and bled 
for all that was dear to them, will rest upon their 
sons ; and if, like them, you should ever be 
called to struggle for your liberties and rights, 
like them you will conquer, and like them receive 
the warm approbation of a grateful country. But 
we hope that brighter days and more peaceful 



1GG THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. 

scenes await you. We trust your country will 
not oeed the interposition of your swords; but, 
free from foreign commotion and internal disquiet, 
\\ ill continue to hold a distinguished rank among 
the nations of the earth. 

Gentlemen, our best wishes follow you into the 
tranquil and useful walks 1 of life. May you long 
enjoy, with gratitude, the bounties of Heaven 
and the blessings of Christianity in the happiest 
land beneath the sun, — and when your great 
Commander, the captain of our salvation, shall 
give you your discharge, may you hang up your 
arms in the mansions above, and be numbered 
among those happy spirits, who have fought their 
way to glory, and washed their robes in the blood 
of the Lamb. 






167 



SERMON VII 



THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE POOR. 



luke vii. 22. 

To the poor the Gospel is preached. 

Of the numerous evidences in favor of the 
truth of Christianity, that derived from miracles 
has always been considered of primary impor- 
tance. Although it has been assailed by the 
most ingenious sophistry of modern deists, it has 
triumphed over all opposition, and will ever 
remain one of the great bulwarks of the Chris- 
tian faith. This kind of evidence, indeed, is 
essential to a revelation, purporting to come from 
God, for in no other way are we able to conceive 
how a revelation can be made. Should we be 
thought to attach too great importance to this 



168 i m: GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

kind of evidence, we have only to plead the 
authority of our divine Master. In the early 
part of his ministry, the fame of his benevolent 
labors, as it spread throughout Judea, reached the 
damp and gloomy a\ alls where the bold and 
intrepid Baptist lav a prisoner for his fidelity 
to an incestuous tyrant. When he heard of 
the wonderful works which Jesus performed, he 
called two of his disciples and sent them to 
him saying, — Art thou he that should come, or 
look we for another ? 

We cannot suppose that John himself had any 
doubts of the claims of Jesus to be the Messiah, 
as he had some time before pointed him out to 
the multitude on the banks of Jordan as the 
Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the 
world ; — and had beheld the descent of the Holy 
(ihost like a dove on his sacred head, when he 
condescended to submit to receive baptism at 
his hands. His embassy to Jesus was more 
probably intended to satisfy the minds of his 
disciples, than his own; and to introduce them 
to the notice and regards of the Saviour, before 
he should be removed from them by the bloody 
act of his relentless persecutor. 

\\ hen the messengers of John delivered their 
errand, they found the Saviour engaged in his 



;. 7. rO i in: POOR- 169 

usual acts of benevolence and mercy, — foi in 
thai same hour be cured main of their infirmities 
and plagues, and of evil spirits, and imto man) 
that were Mind be gave sight. These* benevo- 
lent miracles furnished a ready and satisfactory 
answer to the question of the disciples. Our 
Lord might indeed have returned them a cate- 
gorical reply, but he well knew the power of 
evidence on the human mind: and it was doubt- 
less his object, in performing these and other 
miraculous cures, not only to relieve the miseries 
of suffering humanity, but to furnish a mass of 
evidence sufficient to satisfy minds more inquisi- 
tive than were probably those of the disciples 
of John — evidence so full and so minute as to 
render perfectly inexcusable every rational being 
to whom it is addressed in vain. — Then Jesus 
answering said unto them. Go your way, and tell 
John what things ye have seen and heard ; how 
that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised ; to 
the poor the gospel is preached. 

In this enumeration of miracles, which our 
Lord adduces as evidence to support his claim to 
be the Messiah of the scriptures, you will observe 
that all but one relate to the kingdom of nature. 
The last, and deservedly the climax of the whole, 
22 



170 rilE G09PEL PREACHED -KR. 7. 

relates to the kingdom of grace. That the inter- 
esting and important fact, announced in the words 
of our text, max be considered \ miracle in the 

moral world, may be inferred, not only from the 
connection which our Lord gives it with the mira- 
cles wrought on the bodies of men, but from 
the consideration that it was as great a deviation 
from the ordinary course of proceeding at that 
period in the moral world, as the restoration of 
sight to the blind and life to the dead was from 
the ordinary course of nature. 

There is another point of light in which our 
text may be viewed. It may be considered as 
referring to another source of evidence of the 
truth of Christianity, viz., that arising from the 
fulfilment of prophecy. This branch of evidence 
is not less important than that arising from the 
miracles of Christ. To some minds it is even 
more conclusive ; and it is a truly astonishing 
fact, which can only be accounted for by the con- 
sideration that blindness has happened to Israel, 
that this evidence could have been resisted by 
that remarkable people, who were the deposi- 
taries of ancient prophecies, and who with their 
own eyes witnessed their exact fulfilment in the 
person of Jesus of Nazareth. 

The fact to which the Saviour referred the 



SERi 7. PO THE POOBi 1 1 I 

disciplei of John, foi proof of his divine mission, 
was a remarkable fulfilment of a well known 
prediction in the prophecy of Isaiah. — The 

Spirit of tin 4 Lord is upon me, becau$e he hath 
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. 

But whether we consider the declaration con- 
tained in the text as a moral miracle, or as a 
fulfilment of sacred prophecy — it affords us an 
interesting and delightful subject pf meditation. 

For ever) work of God there is a reason: and 
although, for wise and good purposes, the designs 
and ends in the moral government of Jehovah are 
sometimes concealed from the view of mortals, 
yet they are often to be learnt by the meek and 
humble disciples of the Saviour, from a careful 
and diligent attention to the course of divine 
providence, and an observance of the wonderful 
works and ways of the Most High. To inquire, 
then, into some of the reasons why the gospel 
is preached unto the poor, may, with the divine 
blessings not only conduce to our edification, but 
be pertinent to the occasion upon which we have 
assembled. 

To understand the full force of the declaration 
in the text, it will be necessary to take a brief 
view of the moral and religious state of the world 
at the time of the Saviour's advent. At this 



17 J THE GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

distant and enlightened period, we can form but 
inadequate conceptions of the low and degraded 
State of that class of society denominated the 
poor, in distinction from the rich, the mighty, the 
noble, and the learned. The general diffusion of 
the blessings of Christianity among the lower 
classes of society, lias so changed their condition, 
and so a fleeted their moral and religious char- 
acter, that they appear to be almost a different 
order of beings from what they were eighteen 
centuries ago. Among the Jews, they were 
looked down upon with proud contempt by the 
Scribes and Pharisees, and opprobriously distin- 
guished by the appellation of publicans and 
sinners — and it was a charge frequently alleged 
against him who first came to preach the gospel 
to the poor, that he had familiar intercourse with 
such a class of men. 

In the gentile world, the common poor were 
if possible still less esteemed. They were kept 
in the grossest ignorance of letters and of morals. 
The proud philosophers of Greece and Rome gath- 
ered in their schools the sons of the wealthy and 
the noble, but never condescended to extend the 
blessings of learning and morals to the degraded 
poor. Such was the moral State of the world, 
when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 



r, 7. ro i in: POOR. 1 73 

men. Xo wonder, then, thai the Saviour should 
Dumber anion:: the miracles which he performed, 
and assign it the last and greatest place in the 
catalogue, the interesting and important fact, — 
That to the poor the gospel is preached* 

A new era now opened upon that long neg- 
lected and despised class of men. They were 
no longer excluded from the rights and privih 
of men ; they were no longer regarded on a level 
with beasts of burden : but their souls were felt 
to be of equal value with the souls of their proud 
oppressors — their condition was even ennobled 
far above the state of kings and princes, by the 
wonderful fact, that He who was rich became 
poor. Were they destitute of earthly treasures ? 
So was He, who had not where to lay his head. 
The very circumstance of the mean and low con- 
dition in which our Lord appeared in the world, 
gave new hopes and opened new prospects to the 
poor. Their condition was exalted at once by 
the fact of the Saviour's poverty. 

It is not surprising that the condescension 
which our Lord exhibited to the poor, and the 
gracious notice which he took of them, should 
have excited astonishment in the self-righteous 
Jews, little less than that produced by the resur- 
rection of Lazarus from the dead. It was as 



I 7 I l Hi: QOSFEL PRE kCHED SEK. 7. 

great a deviation from their sentiments and ex* 
pectationSj as the raising of the dead was from 
the course of nature 4 , and was therefore as great 
a miracle* They looked for a temporal Messiah. 
They expected that he would deliver them 
from tin 1 Roman yoke, and load them with riches 
and honors. I low great then must have been 
their disappointment, when he who claimed to 
be their promised Messiah, selected a stable for 
his palace, a manger for his birthplace, the ox 
and ass for his attendants, and the poor for his 
congregation ! 

Having thus considered some of the circum- 
stances connected with the declaration in our 
text, we are prepared to inquire into the reasons 
why the gospel is preached to the poor. 

The first, and most obvious reason, which 
presents itself to the serious reflecting mind, is, 
that to which all others must be referred — The 
sovereign will of God. Even so, Father, for 
so it seemeth good in thy sight ! Hath not God 
chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith and 
heirs of tin* kingdom ? Were there no other 
reasons which we could discern, this would be 
sufficient, and ought to silence every mouth. 
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 
There is no doubt but a great proportion of the 



ier, 7. ro thi. poor. I 7fi 

trophies oi divine grace are to be found in the 
lower walks of life. Not manj wise men after 
the fl< lot many mighty, not manj noble — 

but God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
world to confound the wise: and God hath 
chosen the weak things of the world to confound 
the things which are mighty: and base things 
of the world, and things which arc despised, 
hath God chosen ; yea, and things which arc not, 
to bring to naught the things which arc — that 
no flesh should glory in his presence. In this 
striking passage, Clod is pleased to assign a 
reason for this choice — That no flesh should 
glory in his presence. 

The great scope and aim of Christianity ap- 
pears to be, to teach men humility ; to stain the 
pride of human glory, and lead him that glorieth 
to glory in the Lord. What can be better calcu- 
lated to effect this design, than the fact that the 
gospel is preached to the poor. 

The Jews prided themselves upon their reli- 
gious privileges. Viewing themselves as the 
peculiar people of God, they regarded with 
contempt the gentile nations by which they were 
surrounded. When the Saviour then extended 
his compassionate regards, not only to the poorest 
and most despised of his own nation, but to 



1 76 THE GOSPEL PRE tCHED SHR. 7. 

those Who came fro!)) Tyre and Sidon, the pride, 
of the Jews was humbled. They lost that flat- 
tering distinction in which thpy boasted ; audit 
is oot surprising that their bosoms rankled with 
rage against the author of their shame and mor- 
tification. 

One object then in preaching the gospel to the 
poor, is to humble the pride of human greatness; 
to annihilate those vain distinctions which prevail 
in the world : and to convince mankind that the 
rich and poor, the high and low, arc on a level, 
and their souls equally precious in the sight of 
God. 

But, the principal reason why the gospel 
should be preached to the poor, is, that it is 
admirably adapted to their situation and circum- 
stances. This will be obvious, if we reflect 
upon the nature of the gospel, and upon the 
circumstances of the poor. The literal meaning 
of the word gospel, is good news or glad tidings; 
and surety if any thing deserves the name, it is the 
intelligence of peace on earth and good will to 
men : — the exhilarating fact that there is pardon 
for the guilty, and bope for the dying; — that 
God is in Christ reconciling the world unto him- 
Belf, not imputing their trespasses unto them. 

The gospel not onl) includes this interesting 



BER. 7. TO Tin: POOR. 1 1 7 

intelligence, bat abounds in the greatest variety 
of consolations and hopes. There is do situation 
in life \n hich it does not reach, no ei il in this vale 
of tears for which it has not a halm and a solace. 
It '^ the sick man's friend, the mourner's con- 
solation, and the support of the dying. When 
outward and worldly comforts fail, it affords a 
peace which passeth all understanding. It en- 
livens the darkest hours. It converts a cottage 
into a palace — a den of lions into a Christian 
oratorv — and the lierv furnace into a sanctuary 
for the divine presence. 

When we consider the circumstances of the 
poor, we shall see how admirably adapted the 
gospel is to the trials of poverty. It must be 
acknowledged that the sufferings of the poor are 
often extreme. Of this extremity, we see but 
little in this highly favored country. So liberal 
is the provision made by our humane statutes for 
the public support of the poor and infirm, that 
we rarely, if ever, behold the distressing spectacle 
of an individual famishing with hunger, or per- 
ishing with cold. But, although instances of 
extreme poverty are rare among us, there are 
even in this land, flowing with milk and honey, 
many who feel its griping pressure, and suffer for 
want of those numberless little comforts which 

23 



178 THE (iOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

are bo necessary to the sick and dying bed. 

There are more who, though not in a state of 
actual sufferance, are constantly exposed to the 
most painful anxieties respecting the future sup- 
port of themselves and families — many who, 
though provided for to-day, can make no calcula- 
tion on the supply of to-morrow's wants. 

Povcrtv is not only a state of suffering, but a 
state of temptation. The prayer of Agur is full 
of meaning — Give me neither poverty nor riches. 
Both these conditions have their snares; but it is 
only with those which are peculiar to the former 
that we are now concerned. The temptations 
peculiar to poverty, are the indulgence in those 
lower and vulgar vices which degrade men in the 
sight of each other, as well as in the sight of 
God — such as theft, intemperance, profanencss, 
lewdness, and many Other kindred sins. The 
poor man. when he falls into those temptations 
peculiar to his condition, has no sympathy from 
those above him in rank and station. His sins 
are open beforehand, going before to judgment, 
while the sins of his opulent neighbor are more 
secret and concealed, and follow after him. When 
the poor man sins, mere moral suasion w ill have 
but little effect to induce him to change his course 
<>! conduct, and return to the paths of virtue. 



R. 7. TO THE TOOK. 179 

The moralist will fail in persuading the drunkard 
to abandon his cups, and he will probably be 

equally unsuccessful in inducing the profane 
swearer to cease to blaspheme* The .joint 
efforts of Seneca and Epietetus would never 
hare reclaimed a Mary Magdalene- Something 

more is necessary than moral suasion to reform 
the manners and habits of the vicious poor, and 
to make them good members of society. Here 
We see the wonderful adaptation of the gospel to 
the situation and circumstances of the poor. 

What mere ethics could never accomplish, the 
gospel often effects in a moment. By the pow- 
erful agency of the Holy Spirit, accompanying 
the preaching of the word, it pierces even to the 
dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart. The most 
stubborn will is subdued, the most obdurate heart 
melted, and the vilest $inner reclaimed. When 
this change is effected, the way is prepared for 
the reception of those promises and precepts 
which have a direct tendency to make the poor 
happy in their situation, and diligent in the dis- 
charge of their duty. Realizing that godliness 
with contentment is great gain, they learn in 
whatever state they are therewith to be content. 



180 THE GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

Thej can discern a Father's hand in all the allot- 
ments of this changing scene. Their minds are 
now open to all the moral injunctions of the 
gospel. Let not any imagine that the gospel of 
the grace of God is unfriendly to true morality. 
So far from it, it is only when men experience 
this grace that they arc truly moral. They now 
feel the influence of the motives and hopes of the 
gospel, to which they were before utter strangers. 
They now endeavor to render to all their dues ; 
to do to others as they would that others should 
do to them ; to deny all ungodliness and every 
worldly hist, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
godly in the world. Patience, contentment, and 
submission to the divine will, are characteristics 
of the religioUs poor. Animated by the hope of 
another and a better life, they endure as seeing 
him who is invisible: they live as pilgrims and 
Strangers on the earth, and seek another and 
a better country, even an heavenly. 

That this is not a highly wrought picture of 
some of our Christian poor, many who hear me 
will believe. Have we not in all our churches 

some of our best, most spiritual, most devoted 

members among the poor? And what has pro- 
duced this happ) effect ? — lor happy it must be 
allowed to be, even by those who look no further 



U P0< 

than the infl of t ; - upon I 

morals oi I : not to say that 

it i> to be attributed, under the bl< ss g <iod. 
g - el of a a I !hrist It is tin g §- 

pel that j this transmuting wer; that 

chang - the lion into the lamb — the vulture 

into the dove. In every age these effects have 

been produe gospel of Chris Wher- 

r it has been preached in its purity, there it 

- proved the savor of life unto life to thousands 
of poor. 

Another reason may be offered why the gospel 
is reached to the poor. They more readily and 
cheerfully r it than those in the higher 

ranks of life. The personal history ot our Lord 
furnishes abundant evidence of this fact H iiile 
comparatively few of the rulers believed on him. 
the common people heard him gladly. The little 
band who surrounded his person, was ^elected 
from the lower walks of life. Illiterate fisher- 
men became his apostles, and the most despi- I 
of men his followers. Such too has been uni- 
formly the reception of the gospel from that 
to this. It is true there are some I ptions 

to this observation : and Christianity can number 
among its humble, devoted followers a few na. 
distinguished for their wealth, their station and 



li;j THE GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

their honors ; but, generally speaking, now, as 
well ;is in the davs of Christ and his apostles, 
the great body of the faithful are not to he found 
in palaces and in courts, but in cottages and the 
bumble walks of life* The rich, the noble, and 
the learned, are in too many instances satisfied 
with their portion, and desire not a better inheri- 
tance; while the poor and despised among men 
arc laying up for themselves treasures in heaven, 
which can never waste away. There is but little 
encouragement to preach the gospel to the former. 
In general, they think themselves whole and need 
no physician — righteous and need no repentance ; 
but to the latter there is every encouragement to 
declare the word of life. They are far more 
likely, humanly speaking, to be converted. They 
have fewer prejudices to overcome. The world 
has fewer charms for them, and their situation 
renders them more accessible to the calls of the 
gospel, which are addressed to the poor, the blind, 
the wretched, and the naked. While the preach- 
ing of the cross is to the Jews a stumbling-block, 
and to the (i reeks foolishness, to the poor, who 
trust neither in their righteousness nor in their 
learning, it is often the wisdom of God and the 
power of (iod unto salvation. 

Such, my respected hearers, are some of the 



SKR. 7. TO THE POOR. 1 83 



reasons which may be offered why the gospel is 
preached unto the poor. And in contemplating 
them, several interesting and important reflec- 
tions naturally occur to the mind. 

First, our subject leads us to adore the won- 
derful condescension of Jehovah. — Thus saith 
the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eter- 
nity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high 
and holy place, with him also that is of a con- 
trite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of 
the humble, and to revive the heart of the 
contrite ones. The condescension of Jehovah is 
manifest in all his works. What but infinite 
condescension, could have induced Him, who was 
perfectly happy in himself, to have brought into 
existence the world in which we live, and the 
order of intelligent beings of which we form a 
part. And when the progenitors of our race 
violated the holy law of their Creator, how great 
was that condescension which cried, Forbear — 
Deliver from going down to the pit, for I have 
found a ransom. But if it is possible that this 
condescension can be increased by any circum- 
stances attending this w r onderful interposition of 
divine mercy, it is by the astonishing fact of the 
Saviour's poverty, and of the character and con- 



I 8 I i HE GOSPEL PREACHED SCR. 7. 

dition of those to whom his gospel was preached. 
Had the Saviour descended from heaven to earth 

in a chariot of fire, attended with legions of 
angels, his condescension would have been meat. 
But how much greater does it appear, when we 
reflect on the circumstances of his advent ! Born 

in a Stable] cradled in a manger, the reputed son 

of a carpenter, an associate of publicans and 
sinners! Mow exquisitely tender and pathetic is 
the description which the Saviour gives of his 
own poverty. — The foxes have holes, and the 
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man 
has not where to lav his head. 

But his condescension appears in the most 
engaging point of light, when Ave reflect on the 
condition and character of those to whom lie 
addressed the offers of mercy. He came to seek 
and to save that which was lost. He came not 
to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. 
He was not to be found in the halls of the noble, 
nor at the tables of the great ; but he sought out 
objects of suffering humanity among the lowest 
classes of society. He travelled on foot through 
tin; cities and villages of Judea, on errands of 
mercy, healing the sick, and casting out unclean 
spirit^, and sometimes raising tin' dead. None 
were so obscure as to be beneath his notice. 



si:r. 7. to Tin: poor. 1 85 

Even that wretched class erf society, who were 
excluded by general assent from circles of repu- 
tation, were not forsaken by the pitying Son of 
God ; but when penitent and believing, (bond a 
ready and almighty friend in Him, who never 

broke the bruised reed, nor quenched the smoking 
flax. The dying thief turned not, in vain, an 
imploring eye to Jesus. Such was the conde- 
scension of Him, who, though he was rich, for 
our Bakes became poor, that through his poverty 
We may be rich. 

While we adore his matchless condescension, 
let us learn, in the second place, to imitate his 
example. 

The example of Jesus is, in all respects, 
worthy of our imitation. He went about doing 
good, and he hath set us an example that we 
should follow his steps. It is, more particularly, 
his example as a preacher of the glad tidings of 
salvation to the poor, to the meanest class of 
people, to the outcasts of society, that we desire 
this evening to hold up for your imitation. 

Let the ministers of Jesus, in the first place, 
be reminded of the Saviour's example. How 
does it reprove those who seek to please the rich 
and the noble and the learned, and neglect the 
humble poor — whose ambition is gratified if they 
24 



186 i in: GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. 

arc admired and caressed by the higher classes of 
society, the fashionable) and the gay, while the 
poor remain unnoticed and unknown. It is one 
evidence of fidelity iii a minister of the gospel, 
and denotes one point of resemblance to his divine 
Master, w hen the common people hear him gladly. 
What if he is deserted by the great, and wise, 
and rich men of this world — happy is he, if he 
can collect around him a congregation of humble 
poor. He never need be ashamed of a congre- 
gation like that to which his Saviour ministered. 
Let ministers of Jesus then be exhorted from our 
subject, to be more faithful, diligent and perse- 
vering in preaching the gospel to the poor. 

But, is the whole of this interesting and im- 
portant duty confined to them? Who are to 
furni>h the facilities for carrying into effect this 
benevolent object ? The poor it is obvious can- 
not, — the ministers of Jesus cannot, for they 
most frequently resemble their divine Master in 
his poverty, and they cannot, like him, render 
the fish and the sea tributary to the supply of 

their wants. They who preach the gospel, now 

that miracles have ceased, must, live by the 

gospel; and, if they would preach the gospel 

to the poor, as their Saviour did, they must be 
assisted in their labors of love by those upon 



8ER. 7. rO Tilt: POOR* 187 

whom the Lord baa more liberally bestowed the 
means. Hence we perceive the duty of Chris- 
tians in general to use all the means in their 

power thai the gospel may be preached to the 
poor. The poor, said .Jesus. \e have always with 

you, and whenever you will you can do them 
good. We need not go far to find suitable 

objects for this important charity. The poor are 
to be found in our smallest villages — but in cities 
and large towns they form no inconsiderable part 
of the community. 

Impressed with the necessity of adopting effi- 
cient measures for extending to the numerous 
poor of this metropolis the advantages of moral 
and religious instruction, the society was insti- 
tuted, whose anniversary we this evening cele- 
brate, and in whose behalf I now address you. 
In pleading their cause, I have the satisfaction 
of addressing an audience distinguished for their 
liberality to benevolent institutions. To you, the 
numerous societies, which have for their object 
the relief of the temporal and bodily necessities 
of your fellow creatures, have never appealed in 
vain ; and shall a society, whose object is to save 
the souls of men from death — to extend to the 
suffering poor the inestimable blessings of the 
gospel — to bring contentment to the poor man's 



188 THE GOSPEL PREACHED. SER. 7. 

home — to administer consolation to the afflicted, 
comfort to the sick, and hope to the dying — shall 
such a society in vain solicit the benevolent aid 
of the Christian public? No — it cannot be. It 
has only to make its necessities known, and the 
hand of charity immediately will be extended to 
its relief. 

But why should I detain you any longer from 
carrying your benevolent purposes into operation? 
1 will only say, that there is a circumstance in the 
history of this society which, while it awakens 
both pleasing and painful emotions in my own 
bosom, cannot but be deeply interesting to those 
who usually worship in this consecrated temple. 
— It is the memory of its early and constant 
friend and president, the ever lamented, ever 
beloved Huntington. If his pure spirit is per- 
mitted to concern itself in the affairs of mortals, 
ma\ we not indulge the pleasing thought, that 
it is hovering over this assembly, and regarding 
with peculiar complacency, the society which, 
when livings was so near his heart. — And how 
caw you, my Christian friends, better express 
your regard for his memory, than by contributing 
this evening) as God has blessed you, to aid the 
funds of ' the Boston Society for the Moral and 
Religious Instruction of the Poor.' 



189 



SERMON VIII. 



THE CLAIMS OF THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. 



DEUTERONOMY xiv. 29. 



The fatherless and the widow, which are ivithin thy gates, 
shcdl come, and shall eat and be satisfied. 

One of the strongest proofs of the theocratical 
government of the Hebrew nation is the provision 
that was so amply made for the relief of the suf- 
fering poor. In no human government that ever 
existed, can be found any statutes for the relief 
of human misery, that can be compared with the 
merciful and abundant provision made in the 
Jewish polity, for the children of want and sor- 
row. The stranger within the gates, the debtor 
and prisoner, and above all the fatherless and 
widow, as well as the ministers of the altar, are 



190 Tin: CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

the objects of the special regard of the almightj 
Lawgiver, and for them the most liberal provision 
is distinctly made ))\ special statutes, enacted in 
the court of heaven. 

It is the benevolence of the Jewish code, its 
adaptation to the wants and the relief of suffer- 
ing humanity, that furnishes one of the most 
powerful arguments in favor of its divine origin. 
The ceremonial and national part of the Jewish 
economy has ceased to be binding upon man, and 
is superseded by the more simple and less onerous 
dispensation of the gospel; but all that is strictly 
moral in the Hebrew ritual, can never cease to be 
obligatory upon those who profess to receive the 
scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as 
the only standard of faith and practice. 

And what part of the morality of the Old Tes- 
tament comes home to the consciences and bosoms 
of men with more thrilling interest, than the posi- 
ti\e injunctions contained, not only in our text, 
but in numerous other parts of the law of Moves. 
to provide for the poor and needy ? What heart 
is >o callous, so hardened to all the feelings of 
humanity, as can resist a claim like this? lie 
that cannot feel lor the fatherless and widow, let 
him go from the habitations of men, and herd with 
the beasts of the forest. He is not fit to dwell 



r. 8. r kTHERLESfl am> w mow . [91 

with Civilized man — nor with tli - of tin 4 

wilderness foi even in their hard and untutored 

soma is found a cord that vibrates to the claims 

charitj . 

Under the Jewish law, the fatherless and 
widow, as well as the Levite and the stranger, 
had a legal claim, every third year, to the tithe of 
the increase of the land. We have no such pro- 
vision in the laws of our country, nor indeed is it 
so necessary under the Christian dispensation, 
where individual duty is so clearly defined by 
the light of divine truth. We are not, as under 
the Jewish economy, called upon to support the 
Levite by the tithes of our increase. In the 
present enlightened age and period of the world, 
and in our happy country, religion is wisely left 
free, and unshackled by a connection with the 
state. It needs not now the arm of civil power 
to maintain its existence, and to advance its 
prosperity. All that it asks, is the protection of 
the law, and liberty to live by its own energies. 
Nor in this enlightened period of the world, i^ it 
so necessary, as under the Jewish economy, to 
make legal provision for the stranger, and the 
fatherless, and the widow : for where the princi- 
ples of Christianity are widely diffused, and their 
benign influences experienced, the community 



192 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

Will feel that this interesting class of human 
sufferers have a moral if not a legal claim on 
their charity, which they cannot and will not 
resist. This moral claim, in the court of con- 
science, has the force of law. To urge this 
claim, 1 appear before you, my respected hearers, 
this evening. 

I esteem it a peculiar privilege to be permitted 
to stand here, the accredited advocate of one of 
the most interesting, most important, and cer- 
tainly most unexceptionable charities that can be 
commended to the consciences and hearts of 
men. We live in an a^e, distinguished for 
Christian charity and benevolence. Many, and 
we rejoice to say successful, are the pleas which 
are constantly urged on the public, in favor of 
religious charity. We love to hear the cause of 
the great charter of all our hopes advocated, and 
to anticipate the coming day, when not only 
every family in our beloved land, but every 
family on the globe, will, through the efforts of 
Christian charity, be furnished with a copy of 
the word of life. — AVe rejoice to listen, as many 
of us have recently done, to eloquent and soul- 
stining discourses and addresses in favor of that 
cause, which lay so near the heart of the ascend- 
iog Saviour, when he commanded his disciples to 



BE1L 8« FATHERLESS kND WIDOW. 193 

gO OUt into all the World, and preach the gOSpel 

to ever} creature. These arc great, and noble, 
and godlike efforts. They justly have many 
and powerful advocates — and, with the utmost 
sincerity, do we wish them God speed. JJut, 
while we cordially unite in all the (dibits that 
are making for the evangelization of the world, 
we will not forget the cause of suffering hu- 
manity. 

From the text Ave perceive that the fatherless 
and widow had a legal claim upon a certain 
portion of the income of the children of Israel. 
It will be our object in the following address to 
consider the moral claims of this interesting class 
of our fellow-beings upon our sympathies and 
charity. 

To enforce these claims, it is only necessary 
that we make ourselves acquainted with the 
situation of those unhappy sufferers, who by an 
act of God, which no human foresight nor after 
care could prevent, have been deprived of their 
nearest earthly friend, and their more efficient 
provider and protector. 

To constitute that class of the family of sor- 
row, for which we plead this evening, the 
strongest and tenderest of earthly ties must be 
ruptured. To these connections none of us 

25 



194 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

arc strangers. They form the bonds that 
hold society together. They are the charm 
of domestic life. Who of us has not felt their 
power and rejoiced under their influence ? Happy 
is that family that has a venerated and belov- 
ed head, upon whom the arm of the helpless 
and confiding sex rests with fond assurance of 
aid and support through the journey of life; and 
to whom the eyes of young and inexperienced, 
and often heedless and unwary youth, look for 
guidance and direction, aid and succor in meeting 
the difficulties and encountering the temptations 
of an unfriendly world. — But how often are 
the fondest expectations blasted in a moment ! 
The husband and the parent sinks into the arms 
of death, and the once happy dwelling becomes 
the abode of the deepest sorrow. This is no 
imaginary picture, for there is not a passing day 
that does not witness many such bitter scenes of 
domestic grief. No community is exempt from 
the painful trial. Widows and orphans are to be 
found in every place, and it is only in heaven 
that all their tears will be wiped away. 

But, although under any circumstances the 
situation of the widow and her fatherless offspring 
(alls for affectionate sympathy, it is not always 
that it requires and asks for the kind interposition 



SER. o. FATH£RLESS AM) WIDOW. 195 

of Christian charity* It ia a subject of gratula- 
tion, wluMi the stroke thai removes from a family 
it- revered and honored head, is alleviated by the 

consideration that, from the avails of hornet in- 
dustry or patrimonial inheritance) something is 

secured to afford the comfort of a home to the 
desolate widow and her fatherless children. 

Comparatively few, however, arc the instances 
in our country where property descends to the 
third, if to the second generation. With the 
blessing of health and honest industry, a com- 
fortable livelihood may be easily obtained by all ; 
but few can expect to lay up from the proceeds 
of their business a sufficient fund for the support 
of their families after their decease. Most of 
the families, who by the providence of God are 
deprived of their earthly protector, are left in a 
state of comparative dependance. If young, or 
in middle life and in the enjoyment of health, 
they may by diligence and industry, succeed in 
earning a comfortable subsistence ; but how fre- 
quently does decrepitude and infirmity mark the 
steps of the widow. Sickness, with its numerous 
ills, is often to be found in her lone abode — the 
kind hand which once held up her weak and 
tottering frame, is cold in death — the heart 
which once throbbed in sympathy with all her 



196 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

griefs, has ceased to heat — she is alone in the 
w ide world. Oh, inv friends, this is no uncom- 
mon sight. We have often witnessed it, — and the 
scene has caused our hearts to bleed. There is 
no object of distress that lias come within my 
knowledge and observation, that more powerfully 
appeals to the tenderest feelings of humanity, 
than the situation of a sick, infirm, destitute 
widow, surrounded, perhaps, by a number of 
fatherless children, whose tattered clothes bespeak 
their poverty — a widow, who has seen better 
days, who has been no stranger to the comforts, 
and it may be to the elegances of life. The 
husband of her youth was once prosperous and 
successful. Jle ploughed the mighty deep, and 
visited foreign climes in quest of gain. Often 
did he return laden with the produce of other 
shores. With what fond delight did the partner 
of his life rush to his embrace — and the children 
of their mutual affection cling around his knees! 
But, with more than the freedom with which it 
was acquired, was his wealth expended. Gen- 
erous even to credulity, he trusted to the pro- 
fessions of the insincere, and in an evil hour lost 
all that he had gained by years of toil. Again 
he betook himself to the deep — he once more 
visited lands far distant from his home. He 



BER. 8. FATHERLESS wn wmow. 107 

labored to retrieve his ruined fortunes, and to 
provide for the friend of his bosom and the chil- 
dren of his love. But. exhausted nature sunk in 
a sickly clime. Jle left only a blessing as an 
inheritance for his family, and departed to that 
world where there is no change. At the expected 
time, the barge that bore him from his native 
shore returned. Its well known signal is descried 
bv the eagle eye of a son, watching for the return 
of a father. On wings of filial love he flies to 
communicate the glad intelligence to his anxious 
mother. Unmingled joy beams in the counte- 
nances of the little group. They wait with 
intense anxiety. They listen to every sound for 
the footsteps of him whom they love. Some one 
approaches — but it is a stranger. In a moment 
the spell of imagined happiness is dissolved. The 
tender and affectionate mother is a ividoiv, and 
her children fatherless ! 

Scenes like these, my hearers, are continually 
taking place in this world of change and sorrow. 
Few, if any of us, are strangers to the house of 
mourning. We have all felt at some period of 
our lives the disruption of social and domestic 
ties. But time has worn away the impression 
which recent affliction made on our minds. Our 
sympathies with the children of sorrow have been 



198 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

chilled by our own prosperity and freedom from 
Buffering : and while we are enjoying the comforts 
and satisfactions of life, we are exceedingly apt 
to forget that great numbers of our fellow-crea- 
tares are enduring the privations of poverty, and 
drinking deep of the cup of human wo. A\ e 
need to be reminded of the sufferings of other-. 
We need to leave our comfortable abodes, and 
explore the hovel and the garret, where squalid 
poverty finds her wretched home. Surrounded 
b\ all the comforts and refinements of social and 
domestic life, we are apt to forget how multitudes 
of our fellow-creatures attempt to live. It is 
well, then, on occasions like the present, to make 
ourselves familiar with the sufferings of others. 
It tends to call into exercise the best feelings of 
our nature, and to revive the moral claims which 
the wretched have upon our sympathies and 
charity. 

Let me again introduce you into the abode of 
the miserable. And I will not go from home — I 
will not carry you into the crowded cities of the 
old world, and penetrate into the lazarettos and 
prisons of Europe, to bring before vour eyes 
objects of distress that would send the blood 
rushing to your heart, and make you sicken at 
the Mght of your own species. Ble^ed be God, 



Mm 8. HERl WB WIDOW. 199 

not vet arrived at such a ^rnte of 

dm and suffering in this land of eom- 

ihI mor< :1 diffusion of the 

of T. — but in this 

Eood land, and in this opulent and liberal citv. 

are to found cases of suffering lieh one 

would hardly credit, were they not 90 well au- 

"Among the poor and d sed wid« pro, " 

•whom I was called to visit, was an 

individual, who-, situation claimed my particular 
attention. She was a very interesting woman, 
appeared to be well educated, and far above the 
rank of her countrywomen who resort to Amer- 
ica. She came to this country with her husband, 
apparently in easy circumstances. S »on after 
their arrival, however, her husband died, deeply 
lvcnt. leaving her with one child, in a land 
Grangers, entirely destitute, and without the 
means of subsistence. Reduced to the last ex- 
tremity, she sought for and obtained a place as a 
domestic, which enabled her for a time to support 
herself and child. But naturally of a delicate 
constitution, and unaccustomed to the dune- 
such an employment, she at last sunk under the 
accumulating weight of ill health and depression 
of spirits. Xo longer able to discharge the duties 



200 THE CLAIMS OF THE SKR. 8. 

of her situation, she applied for assistance. She 
has since been supported by charity. Her pa- 
tience and resignation during all her trials and 
sufferings have been almost without a parallel. 

One tie only seemed to bind her to earth — that 
tie appears now to he severed. Her child is pro- 
vided lor. and the mother is evidently approaching 
the world of spirits.** She has, probably, since 
this account was given, gone to that world where 
she is beyond the reach of human charity. — But 
this is only one of the numerous instances of 
extreme suffering which it is the design of this 
benevolent society to relieve. 

" I was called," says another trustee of this 
interesting charity, " one very cold morning, to 
visit a poor widow, whom I found in the third 
story of a building, with four half-clad, shivering 
children around her. the youngest very sick, and 
one of the others too unwell to go out. They 
were very scantily provided with food, even of 
the coarsest kind, and all the find they had might 
he contained in a plate. The? poor mother's heart 
seemed almost broken when she said she was 
obliged to keep her children in bed the daytime 
to prevent them from freezing." 

Another of the trustees of the excellent society, 
whose cause I am permitted to plead, " called on 



BSRi 8i r \ rH£RL£SS ami widow . 201 

a widow, during the last mater, after a severe 
storm, the snow and water having been vcjry 
deep for a number of days. She said to ber, 
k Have you not suffered during this bad weather 
for necessaries?' She replied, 'No, but on Sat- 
urday evening 1 had neither food nor a cent of 
money to buy even a piece of bread. I thought, 
surely I shall be obliged to fast through the 
Sabbath. I took down my Bible, saying, Well, 
I shall have uospel bread, if no other. While I 
sat reading, some kind friend, remembering my 
destitute situation, sent me a quantity of cold 
food, which was a fresh token of my heavenly 
Father's care. 5 " 

These, my hearers, are not pictures of the 
imagination. They are sober, melancholy, dis- 
tressing facts — facts that have taken place in 
your own city, in your own neighborhood, almost 
under your own eyes. Such facts are continually 
taking place, and doubtless many of them will 
occur the present season, — for the time is coming 
when the cold and bitter winds will blow, when 
the icicles will stand thick upon your windows, 
and the driving snow, and no less uncomfortable 
sleet, will block up your streets and send you to 
your firesides for comfort. Ah ! what is then to 
become of the poor widow and her little fatherless 
26 



202 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

charge, who have no comfortable hearth, no hus- 
band's and lather's house to receive and welcome 
tlirin, where they may spend the long winter 
evening in social enjoyment, and be safe and 
comfortable during the pitiless storm of a dreary 
winter's night. Our delightful autumn will soon 
br over, and the hoary frost and the fleecy snow 
mantle the blooming earth. It is in the w T inter 
months that the objects of the benevolence of 
this excellent institution greatly need the kind 
interposition of Christian charity. 

The present season has, therefore, been judi- 
ciously selected as the anniversary of 'The Father- 
less and A\ idow's Society' — that with their funds 
replenished by the liberality of this community, 
they may go forth to their self-denying, but most 
delightful employment, of seeking out the cause 
they know not, of penetrating into the abodes of 
wretchedness and want, and of wiping away the 
tears from the eyes of the disconsolate widow, 
and cheering the hearts of her fatherless offspring 
with kind and soothing expressions of sympathy 
and relief. 

They have chosen this mode of supplying their 
treasury, from a full and entire confidence in the 
liberality of the community in which they live. 
They have had proof, substantial proof, of their 



BER. 8. FATHERLESS AND Winow. 20;5 

liberality on formei occasions. They have never 
made an appeal to the charity of the public in 

% ain. 

The society, whose cause I plead, has always 
been a favorite with this community ; and well 
it may be, for it has every thing to recommend 
it. It is composed of that sex, who have ever 
been active in deeds of mercy — who were last at 
the Redeemer's cross, and first at his sepulchre — 
who broke the box of ointment on his sacred 
person, and embalmed his crucified body with 
spices, and have ever been his attached, and 
constant, and faithful friends in every age and 
part of the world. And it is with the greatest 
propriety that this society is so constituted. 
AYho can so feelingly sympathize with all a 
widow's cares and woes, as one who is perhaps 
herself a widow, or if not, from the enjoyment 
of her own domestic comforts, is tremblingly 
alive to their 'loss in others? — and who can know 
so well how to appreciate their circumstances, 
and how to relieve their necessities, as those 
who can with propriety, mingle most in their 
society, and have freest access to their privacy 
and confidence ? 

Another recommendation to this excellent in- 
stitution is to be found in its entire freedom from 



204 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

party spirit of any kind. In these days of 
excitement, both on political and religious sub- 
jects, it is truly refreshing to contemplate an 
institution so entirely above a sectarian spirit, as 
the admirable society whose cause I advocate. 
It is obvious that political rancor can have no 
place here ; and as to differences of opinion on 
religious subjects, I perceive not how they need 
affect this benevolent institution, as all sects and 
denominations of Christians will agree, that one 
important and essential result of pure and unde- 
filcd religion is, to visit the fatherless and widows 
in their affliction. In this society, then, profes- 
sing Christians, of every creed and name, may 
most cordially and efficiently unite ; and I confess 
it gives me no ordinary satisfaction, in these 
days of controversy and division, to stand this 
evening on a spot of common ground, and to 
invite Christians of every name, and individuals 
of ever) opinion, to come up to the help of this 
benevolent society — for it greatly needs the help 
of all. Its resources during the past year, were 
exhausted. It has no permanent funds, but 
depends, as it is meet it should do, upon the 
constant liberality of the benevolent. The calls 
upon their exhausted treasury were, during the 
last year, more numerous and pressing than 



g£R, 8. FATHERLESS AM) WIDOW. 205 

in any former year. The want of funds obliged 
the trustees to refuse many applications whose 
cases were truly meritorious. This ought not 
so to be. It must not be so ; — and will you, 
my respected hearers, for it depends on you, 
will you authorize me to say, It shall not 
be so again : — no indigent, deserving widow, 
no poor friendless and fatherless child, shall be 
denied assistance during the present year. If 
this large and respected auditory will solemnly 
make this resolution to-night, it will be done. If 
every individual in this house will do something 
according to his ability, his own conscience being 
the judge, the fatherless and widows that are 
within the gates of this city, shall come, and shall 
partake of this sacred charity and be satisfied. 
The trustees of this society shall not again be 
constrained to say to the wretched applicants for 
relief, We feel for you — we pity you — but we 
cannot relieve you — we have not funds. 

It rests with you, my respected hearers, to 
decide whether this shall be the case or not — and 
it is indeed a solemn responsibility! If some poor 
widow, during the ensuing winter, should suffer 
distress, which might have been relieved by our 
contribution — if some houseless son of want, who 
has no earthly father to care for him, should, 



206 HIE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. 

through our neglect, be left to pine in sickness ; 
will not the knowledge of the fact meet us at 
another day, when we come to stand before 
Christ in judgment, and be reminded that — inas- 
much as we did it not to one of the least of his 
disciples, we did it not to Him ? 

If we would avert the awful doom which 
awaits the unprofitable servant, let us contribute 
liberally this evening, to this most excellent, most 
interesting, most unexceptionable charity. I put 
it to every man's conscience — Will you give of 
your abundance, or your competence, or even 
your poverty ? — or will you suffer the widow to 
weep on ? Will you permit the fatherless to re- 
main in rags, and to beg his daily bread from door 
to door, when by your timely aid this evening, you 
might cause the widow's heart to sing for joy, 
and put a song of gratitude into the mouths of 
her fatherless children ? I know you will not. 
I am persuaded that you will not allow this 
interesting charity to languish for want of funds. 
The only reason why its active and indefatigable 
managers were not able to relieve) during the 
past winter, every case of distress that pressed 
upon them was, because you did not know their 
embarrassment Had you anticipated it, you 
^ould have provided against its recurrence. An 



SER. 8. FATHERLESS and widow. 207 

audience in this city, like the present, needs not 
the power of eloquences nor the Fascinations of 

oratory, to exact their contributions. All they 
require is the eloquence of facts — the oratory of 
distress. 

AVe have endeavored to lay before you this 
evening, a plain, unvarnished tale. We have 
stated facts, and we leave it for you to judge how 
far they are deserving your regard and immediate 
attention. Had we supposed that any adventi- 
tious circumstances — the voice of a stranger, or 
the charm of novelty, had been necessary to draw 
your attention to this blessed charity, we would 
have resigned the services of the evening into 
other hands ; but we have too much confidence 
in the intrinsic merits of this charity, and too 
high an opinion of the good sense and sound 
judgment of the inhabitants of this city, to sup- 
pose, for a moment, that their chanties would be 
effected by any circumstances independent of the 
just, the honorable, the benevolent, the pressing 
claims of the society itself. Nor do we forget 
that the claims of this society are identified with 
that high, and elevated, and distinguished charac- 
ter, which this revered and beloved metropolis 
has sustained for two centuries. Nor shall we 
soon cease to remember, when listening to our 



208 THE CLAIMS OF THE SIR. 8. 

civic history, from lips of almost unrivalled elo- 
quence, that among the bright and glorious deeds 
for which this city of the Pilgrims had been so 
long distinguished, brightest shone — the amount 
of their charitable contributions. 

My hearers, before another centennial era re- 
turns, this great assembly — all the inhabitants of 
this populous city, will be numbered with the 
dend. But other generations will be here to fill 
our places — other orators and other poets to com- 
memorate the century in which we have lived. 
And when they come to search for materials for 
our future history, and to gather up the amount 
of the deeds of charity that filled the records of 
our city during the third century, may they find 
on one of its early pages, the generous and liberal 
amount of this evening's contribution, in aid of 
• The Fatherless and AVidow's Society.' 



209 



SERMON IX. 



IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEIXi E. 



PROVERBS xix. 2. 



That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good. 

Every thing that relates to the human soul is 
deeply interesting to an immortal being. The 
body, for which we are so anxious to provide, 
must soon moulder in the grave. In a few years 
it will be incorporated with the great mass of 
matter, and the pains which we have taken to 
beautify and adorn it will be lost forever. But 
the care, bestowed on the soul during its residence 
in clay, will be felt in the world of spirits — the 
bias, given to its operations here, will fix its state 
hereafter — and the stamp, impressed upon it in 
27 



210 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

time, will determine its happiness or misery in 
eternity. 

That this spark of immortality is an emanation 
of Deity, reason as well as revelation assures 

us. — that it is corrupt, impure, and unlike the 
source from which it sprung, is the dictate of 

experience as well as of scripture, — that purity 

cannot subsist with impurity, that holiness is 
inconsistent with sin, is evident to the unpreju- 
diced understanding of every man, and that 
heaven, the habitation of holiness, cannot be the 
abode of pollution and guilt, is a conclusion that 
will not be resisted by a reflecting mind. How 
important, then, is that method, by which the 
human sold ma\ be restored to the image of its 
Maker, by which its natural prospects of eternal 
wrath may be changed to the certain hopes of 
the full and gndless enjoyment of God ! Blessed 
be God, that there is such a method. The 
salvation of the soul is the great object in the 
economy of redemption. To obtain this, the 
lather parted with the Son of his love — to 
secure this, the Lord of glory bled on the cross — 
and to accomplish this, the Holy Spirit, who 
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
hath shined into the hearts of his people, to give 
them the light of the knowledge of the glory of 



SER. 0. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 2\\ 

God in the face of Jesus Christ. In new of the 
connection of knowledge with the eternal in- 
terests of the human soul, we are ready to adopt 
the aphorism of the wise man — That the soul be 
without knowledge, it is not good. 

This saying is verified by daily observation and 
experience. The importance of knowledge in 
secular concerns is generally admitted. Its ne- 
cessity in the various occupations of life cannot 
be questioned. It is indispensable, not only in 
those pursuits, which are usually denominated the 
learned professions, but it is also requisite in the 
ordinary and more common avocations of men. 
The mechanic must have a knowledge of his 
trade, and the husbandman must acquire, by 
practice and experience, a knowledge of the best 
mode of cultivating the soil. Without a com- 
petent degree of general knowledge, it is im- 
possible to maintain a respectable standing in 
society, or to be useful in the generation in 
which we live. 

The importance and necessity of knowledge, 
however it may be undervalued in those parts of 
the world, where it is the interest of the few to 
keep the many in ignorance, and to deprive them 
of the means of acquiring information, will not 
be denied by the inhabitants of a republican 



J1J IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

country, where it is ao established principle that 
knowledge is essential to national happiness, 
liberty, and order. On this principle our vener- 
able fathers acted, when they laid the foundation 
of our present prosperity and respectability, in 
the institution of common schools, where the son 
of the poor man nia\ acquire know ledge \\ ith the 

same facility as the son of his more? opulent 

neighbor« It is owing to this admirable institu- 
tion that knowledge is so generally diffused 
among all elates of the community, and that the 
rare spectacle of a man, who can neither read 

nor write, has become almost a phenomenon in 
this pari of our country. But, while fire rejoice 

in the wise institutions of our ancestors lor the 

general diffusion of useful human knowledge, we 
have reason to lament that there is among us 
Mirh a deficiency of knowledge, vastly more im- 
portant, and without which all other knowledge 
will he of no a\ail. 

It will he our object, in the following discourse, 
to consider, 

I. What that knowledge i^. the want of which 

is SO prejudicial to the soul. And. 

II. To attempt to point out some of the de- 
structive consequences of this baneful ignorance. 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 2M 

I. The knowledge s of which we speak, respects 

tlu 4 moral character of Jehovah — the dil ine law — 
the human heart — and the plan of silvation. 
Oi' all kinds of knowledge, that of our Creator 

i-. unquestionably, the most important. Com- 
pared with this, all other science is trifling and 
insignificant. Indeed, all the sciences derive 

much of their importance from their connection 
m ith thi» fundamental science. Hence astronomy, 
for instance, acquires an interest over many other 
branches of knowledge, because it treats of the 
wonderful works of God, and opens to the aston- 
ished eye worlds on worlds innumerable. But 
it is possible to possess a great degree of this 
knowledge of the Creator's works, and yet be 
ignorant of the divine character, although it 
seems astonishing that any person can admire the 
one and not love the other, and we are ready to 
say, with the poet, " An undevout astronomer is 
mad." We have reason, however, to apprehend 
that there are not a few such madmen among the 
votaries of that sublime and interesting science. 
It is the knowledge of the moral character of 
Jehovah, rather than a scholastic acquaintance 
with the laws of nature, that we are to understand 
by that knowledge, the want of which is so 
prejudicial to the soul. A man may possess all 



214 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

the knowledge that has ever been acquired of the 
heavenly bodies, and yet be ignorant of the 
knowledge of God, and a man may be a profi- 
cient in this best of sciences, and not be able to 
tell the difference between a fixed star and a 
planet. 

The knowledge, then, of which we speak, re- 
lates to the moral character of God, as revealed 
in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. 
In those bright pages, God declares himself to be 
— The Lord — the Lord God, long suffering and 
gracious, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and 
sin, and w 7 ho will by no means clear the guilty. 
He is represented in the sacred volume as a 
being possessed of every possible excellence, 
glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing 
wonders. Holiness is an attribute by which he 
is eminently distinguished. He is emphatically 
the Holy One. His name is holy, and the angelic 
host, who surround his throne, cease not day nor 
night to cry — Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of 
hosts. It is for the want of the knowledge of 
this one attribute alone, that so many thousands 
of our race are destroyed. If they knew that 
God was a holy being, who could not look upon 
sin without abhorrence, would they persist in a 
course, so directly contrary to the divine charac- 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 215 

ter, and which they must know would expose 
them to his just displeasure ? If they knew that 
without holiness no man shall see the Lord, 
would they not endeavor to resemble the divine 
character as far as possible ? The same remarks 
are applicable to the other moral attributes of 
Jehovah, particularly his justice and veracity, the 
believing knowledge of which is calculated to 
have a most powerful influence upon human 
conduct. It is the want of this knowledge and 
belief that emboldens men to continue in sin, 
reckless of the awful consequences — that leads 
them to deal with their Maker as with a fellow 
worm, who may change his* purpose and commute 
his threatening — that induces them to cast off all 
fear, with the vain and fallacious excuse that the 
Lord doth not see, that the Almighty doth not 
regard them. 

Intimately connected with the want of know- 
ledge of the moral character of God, is ignorance 
of the divine law. We have reason to apprehend 
that this ignorance is more extensive than is 
generally imagined. In addition to the multi- 
tudes of our race who are not favored with a 
revelation, there are many in a gospel land, who 
are deplorably ignorant of the law of God. It is 
true, they know the fact, that God has promul- 



216 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

gated a law as the rule of obedience for his ra- 
tional creatures, and that this law is contained in 
the scriptures. Perhaps, too, they have learnt, in 
their childhood, to repeat the ten commandments. 
But how ignorant are they of the spiritual mean- 
ing of the law ! Many have no idea that the law 
extends to the thoughts and intents of the heart. 
They flatter themselves that its requisitions are 
satisfied, if the outward conduct is not in flagrant 
opposition to its precepts, and thus they indulge, 
without restraint, in secret desires and appetites, 
which are, in fact, condemned by the divine 
law. 

It is melancholy to reflect on the numbers of 
precious souls who are destroyed for want of this 
important, essential knowledge ; we say essential 
— for it is the foundation of all other spiritual 
knowledge. It is by the law that we are con- 
vinced of sin. I was alive, said the apostle, with- 
out the law once ; but when the commandment 
came, sin revived, and I died. The law, says the 
same authority, is our schoolmaster to bring us to 
Christ. If then we have incorrect, partial, and 
imperfect views of the law of God, it is evident 
that we cannot have adequate conceptions of the 
plan of salvation by a Redeemer. The man, 
who is ignorant of the spiritual nature and extent 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 217 

of the law of God, can never be truly convinced 
of sin — can never feel that anxiety respecting his 
spiritual state, which is absolutely necessary to 
salvation. He must first realize his poverty, 
blindness, and nakedness, before he will listen to 
the counsel of the Son of God, to buy of him 
gold tried in the fire, that he may be rich, and 
white raiment that he may be clothed. It is 
therefore obvious that ignorance of the spirituality 
and extent of the law of God must be, of all 
ignorance, the most prejudicial to the souls of 
men. 

The knowledge of the human heart, also, is 
important, as the want of it exposes the soul to 
innumerable evils. Self-knowledge, it will be 
readily admitted by all, is of incalculable benefit 
both in temporal and spiritual things. Without 
a good degree of it, it is impossible to discharge 
the ordinary duties of life with comfort and 
respectability. But, if this is a necessary part 
of worldly wisdom, how important is it, when 
viewed in connection with eternal realities ! 
How can that man be in a safe condition, as 
respects his future hopes, who is ignorant of 
himself, who knows not the plague of his own 
heart, the depravity and corruption of his nature, 
28 



218 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

and his entire dependence upon a superior power, 
not only for life and its daily comforts, but for 
every pious thought, and every holy affection. 

It is truly astonishing to see men, who excel 
in almost every other department of knowledge, 
grossly ignorant of themselves, thinking that they 
are something when they are nothing, and flat- 
tering themselves with imaginary ideas of their 
own goodness and purity. Such characters are 
accurately described by the Saviour in his ad- 
dress to the Laodicean Christians. They think 
that they are rich and increased in goods and 
have need of nothing, and know not that they 
are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, 
and naked. That such ignorance is prejudicial 
to the soul we need not spend time to illustrate. 
It has always proved the bane of true piety. It 
discovers itself in vain boasting and carnal secu- 
rity, than which nothing can be more opposite 
to the humility and self-abasement which the 
gospel enjoins. It manifested itself in the proud 
Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not 
as other men. With all his learning — and the 
Pharisees were a sect who pretended to no 
inconsiderable share of it — the poor publican, 
who was, probably, an unlettered man, discov- 
ered far more knowledge of the human heart, 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 219 

when he smote his hand upon his breast, and 
exclaimed — God, be merciful to me, a sinner ! 

But of all the knowledge so necessary for man 
to possess, and the ignorance of which is so fatal 
to his eternal peace, the knowledge of a Saviour, 
and the plan of salvation by his atoning blood, 
stands boldly prominent, and urges its paramount 
claims to our attention. We will not dwell on 
the situation of those who never heard of a 
Saviour, who sit in darkness without light, who 
inhabit the valley of the shadow of death. That 
their situation is dangerous, and ought to awaken 
our sympathy and excite our compassion and 
vigorous efforts for their relief, cannot be denied 
by the benevolent Christian. That it is hopeless, 
we dare not say — for who shall limit the mercy 
of the God of Israel ? — who shall prescribe to 
him the way of access to the human heart ? — and 
who shall presume to say, that the heathen, who 
have not the law, and are a law unto themselves, 
are beyond the reach of his mercy ? They are 
in the hands of a merciful God, who will not 
be a hard master, gathering where he has not 
strawed, and requiring what he has not given. 
At the same time we would not imply such an 
idea of their safety as would induce us to relax, 
for a moment, our most zealous and indefatigable 



220 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

efforts to send them the gospel of peace. Most 
sincerely have we rejoiced — yea, and we will 
rejoice — in the spirit, which prevails both in 
Great Britain and in our own country, in behalf 
of missions to the heathen. May it be increased 
a thousand fold, until the wilderness become a 
fruitful field and the desert rejoice and blossom 
as the rose ! 

But whatever may be the situation of the 
pagan world, there can be no doubt that many 
precious souls in a Christian land are irrecovera- 
bly lost by their ignorance of a Saviour and the 
plan of salvation. This is life eternal, to know 
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent. The converse of this proposition 
is also true, and we may safely say, that in a 
Christian land, This is death eternal, to be igno- 
rant of God and his Son Jesus Christ. If the 
scriptures are true, there is nothing more evident 
than the fact, that there is no other way of salva- 
tion than the one pointed out in the gospel. This 
is expressly stated in the sacred volume. Other 
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ. There is none other 
name, under heaven, given among men, whereby 
we must be saved, neither is there salvation 
in any other. It therefore needs no elaborate 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 221 

argument to convince you, if you admit the 
inspiration of the scriptures, that a want of this 
knowledge must necessarily be in the highest 
degree prejudicial to the souls of men. 

But, it may be asked, what is this knowledge 
of Jesus Christ, which is so essential to salva- 
tion ? This question is highly important, and 
deserves an attentive reply. Much is doubtless 
implied in that knowledge of a Saviour, which 
is connected with eternal life. It is something 
more than speculative and theoretical. One may 
credit the fact, that such a person as Jesus Christ 
once appeared in our world, and was the author 
of the benevolent religion which bears his name. 
Nay more, he may acknowledge his divinity, he 
may believe in his miracles, and admit the truth 
of his doctrines, he may even conform his morals 
to his precepts, and after all, be ignorant of that 
knowledge in which consists eternal life. What 
then is this knowledge ? We answer, it is ex- 
perimental and practical. It has its seat in the 
heart, and its influence extends through the life. 
It implies, not only a belief in the divinity and 
atonement of the Saviour, but a cordial attach- 
ment to him, a vital union with him, and an 
entire dependence on him for justification and 



222 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

sanctification — a participation of his spirit, and 
an imitation of his example. 

An acquaintance with the plan of salvation is 
also implied in this knowledge. It is desirable 
that we should have some connected, systematic 
views of the plan of redemption. How far an 
ignorance of some of the doctrines, connected 
with this scheme, is consistent with true piety, 
we do not pretend to say. We certainly do not 
contend that they are all of equal importance 
with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and him 
crucified. This is indeed all important, and, we 
hesitate not to affirm, in a Christian land, essen- 
tial to salvation. But how far other doctrines, 
connected with this, may claim the same high 
distinction we presume not to say. We do not 
wish to attach too great importance to any doc- 
trine that is not absolutely essential to salvation ; 
for we know that good men have differed in their 
views of articles of faith ; and much as we are 
attached to our own opinions — and we make no 
pretensions to indifference — we are unwilling to 
exclude from our Christian charity those who 
differ from us, provided they are built upon the 
sure foundation laid in Zion, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief corner stone. But, although 
we will not contend that a belief of all that we 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 223 

deem the doctrines of the gospel is essential to 
salvation, we must be allowed to say, that a 
systematic knowledge of the plan of mercy is 
highly important, and, if for the want of it the 
souls of men are not completely ruined, as they 
will be for lack of the saving knowledge of 
Christ, they lose much comfort, strength, edifica- 
tion, and spiritual prosperity, which they might 
otherwise enjoy. It will therefore comport with 
our plan, 

II. To attempt to point out some of the de- 
structive consequences of ignorance, not only of 
what is essential to salvation, but also of what is 
highly important to our spiritual confirmation. 

Ignorance of any important subject, especially 
of those subjects connected with our eternal 
destination, is, to say the least, much to be la- 
mented. None but the artful and designing, or 
the indolent and vicious, will openly step forward 
and advocate the cause of ignorance. It has been 
beautifully said, " where ignorance is bliss, 'tis 
folly to be wise," and this is true in a certain 
sense. Of many things it is, indeed, far better 
to be ignorant than to be informed. It is in- 
finitely better to be forever ignorant of the 
maxims, opinions, and habits of the world, than 



224 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

to acquire a knowledge of them by the sacrifice 
of virtuous principle. But, although this plea in 
favor of ignorance may be admitted, it cannot be 
justified in relation to the all-important subject of 
religion. Here, ignorance is destruction, and 
knowledge is life eternal. 

It is difficult to describe, in all their alarming 
extent, the destructive consequences of ignorance 
of those highly important subjects which have 
passed under review. In attempting to direct 
your attention to some of the most prominent 
evils of spiritual ignorance, we remark, 

1. That it leaves the mind and heart open to 
erroneous doctrines and unsanctified affections. 

The human mind, although uninformed, or in- 
correctly informed, cannot be a complete vacuum, 
unless in cases of perfect idiocy. The mind of 
every rational creature will be employed on some 
subject. If, then, it is not rightly employed, it 
will be occupied by subjects which have an 
injurious influence upon the understanding and 
the heart. If the mind is not instructed, and the 
heart affected by divine knowledge, it requires 
no great discernment to perceive that it will 
become an easy prey to erroneous sentiments 
and unsanctified affections. The truth of this 
observation is abundantly verified by constant 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 226 

experience. What is the character of those who 
know not God. and who obey not the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ ? Is it distinguished for 

purity and sanctity, or even for integrity and 
benevolence ? On the contrary, is it not. almost 
without an exception, sensual and selfish ? If 
the throne in the heart of man is not occupied 
by his Maker, it will be occupied by his rival, the 
£reat enemy of God and man. If the heart is 
not the seat of holiness, it will be the abode of 
sin. It can never be neutral. It is either for 
God or against him : and. if it is not sanctified 
by his grace, through the knowledge of Jesus 
Christ, it must remain in a state of alienation 
from God. and opposition to his will. In this 
state it becomes an easy prey to temptation. 
The most dangerous errors meet with but a faint 
resistance from the mind that is not pre-occupied 
with spiritual knowledge. The door is readily 
opened for their admission by their natural ally. 
the depravity of the heart, which, in the absence 
of the knowledge of God. holds uninterrupted 
sway in the bosoms of men. We remark. 

2. That the destructive consequences of spir- 
itual ignorance may be perceived in the temper 
and conduct of those who are under its influence. 

Every Christian, who has had much opportu- 
29 



226 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

nity of being acquainted with mankind, especially 
with those who make pretensions to religion, 
must have been impressed with the truth of this 
remark. If I am not much mistaken, he must 
have perceived in those who are most ignorant 
of spiritual things, a temper and conduct peculiarly 
hostile to the mild and gentle spirit of Chris- 
tianity. Who are the proud, self-righteous, self- 
willed, self-opinionated ? Are they not those, 
who are deplorably ignorant of the moral char- 
acter of God — of the spirituality of his law — of 
their own hearts — and of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the plan of salvation through his blood ? It 
is often the case, that the most ignorant think 
they know the most ; while the best informed 
are ever ready to acknowledge that they know 
but in part — indeed, that they know nothing as 
they ought to know. Pride is the legitimate 
offspring of ignorance, and humility the lovely 
child of sanctified knowledge. I know nothing 
that calls more frequently for the exercise of the 
Christian graces of forbearance, meekness, and 
self-control, than the wayward, unsteady tempers, 
the stubborn and perverse wills, of those who 
are ignorant of spiritual things, and yet think 
themselves wiser than their teachers — indeed, 
than all the world besides. We observe, 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 227 

3. That the injurious consequences of spiritual 
ignorance may be perceived in the unhappy state 
of mind which it often induces. 

I now refer to those cases, where there may 
be saving knowledge, and yet such a deplorable 
ignorance of the doctrines of religion, of their 
connection and influence, and indeed of the 
whole system of religious truth, as to involve 
the mind in doubt, difficulty, distress, and even 
despair. That this is sometimes the case, and 
that it is owing to ignorance, or rather to a 
want of a systematic knowledge of divine 
truth, cannot be doubted. It requires a good 
degree of knowledge, which is not obtained 
intuitively, but by a diligent attendance on 
appointed means, to understand the system of 
Christianity, to perceive its various relations and 
tendencies, and to trace the connection and 
agreement between its different and sometimes 
apparently opposite doctrines. This knowledge 
is of no trifling importance. The mind, imbued 
with it, will readily discern a beautiful order 
and harmony in the Christian system ; and will 
be relieved from many difficulties, which are 
continually agitating the minds of those, w T ho 
have but partial and disconnected views of divine 
truth. Such a mind will at once reconcile the 



228 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

apparent discrepancies in the statements of the 
apostles Paul and James, with regard to justify- 
ing faith ; and perceive a lovely and inseparable 
connection between faith and works. Such a 
mind, while it trusts, with childlike confidence, 
in a Redeemer's righteousness, will not fail to 
realize the necessity of personal holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord ; while those, 
who are ignorant of this connected view of 
divine truth, are subject to be tossed to and 
fro, and carried about with every wind of 
doctrine. 

But the destructive consequences of spiritual 
ignorance will not be made fully manifest until 
the veil is drawn that separates us from the 
unseen world. Then, there will be a striking 
and awful comment upon the words of the text. 
Then, those who have been wilfully ignorant of 
the character of Jehovah — of the spirituality of 
his law — of their own hearts — of the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the plan of salvation, will go away 
into everlasting punishment; but the righteous 
into life eternal. To the spiritually ignorant 
how awful must be the contemplation of the 
future world ! Impenetrable darkness hangs over 
the opening tomb. In vain the lingering spirit 
clings to life. The rough hand of death tears 



SER. 9. 



SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 



229 



him from the world — the thousand ties, that 
bound him to earth, are severed in a moment — 
and he is hurried, unwilling and unprepared, into 
a world, where he has nothing to hope and every 
thing to fear. Into that awful state we cannot 
penetrate ; but we are assured, by the unerring 
word of God, that the Lord Jesus Christ shall be 
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in 
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with ever- 
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 
and from the glory of his power, when he shall 
come to be glorified in his saints and to be 
admired in all them that believe. 

From our subject we perceive, 

First. The vast importance of spiritual know- 
ledge. 

This cannot but be obvious to every attentive 
hearer. If such deplorable consequences result 
from spiritual ignorance, as have been mentioned, 
then spiritual knowledge must be of infinite im- 
portance. Its connection with the salvation of 
the soul is alone sufficient to decide its vast 
importance. One immortal soul is of more value 
than thousands of worlds. The earth, which we 






230 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

inhabit, shall one day be consumed with fire ; 
the heavens shall wax old as a garment, and be 
changed as a vesture ; but the spark of immor- 
tality shall not be extinguished, the emanation of 
Deity, like the source from whence it sprung, 
shall endure ; and of its years there shall be no 
end. Reflect on the capacity of the soul — on the 
pain it is capable of feeling — on the joy it is 
capable of experiencing. If such is its capacity 
when encumbered with flesh, what will be that 
of the disembodied spirit ! If flesh and blood 
cannot bear a wounded spirit, how great will be 
its misery in the world to come ! If human 
nature faints under the manifestations of God's 
love, how great will be the happiness of the soul 
when faith gives place to vision ! 

Secondly. We infer from our subject, the 
duty of all to endeavor to obtain spiritual 
knowledge. 

An important inquiry here presents itself for 
our consideration. How is this knowledge to be 
obtained ? It is, undoubtedly, the gift of God, 
and is to be sought of him in the faithful and 
diligent use of the means which he has appointed. 
Open thou mine eyes, saith the Psalmist, and I 
shall behold wondrous things out of thy law. If 
any man lack wisdom, says the apostle, let him 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 231 

ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and 
upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But, 
although spiritual illumination cannot be obtained 
without the immediate agency of the Holy 
Spirit, it is to be sought for in the use of means, 
and when obtained, by the use of means it is to 
be cherished, maintained, and increased. Spirit- 
ual knowledge, like all other kinds of knowledge, 
cannot be obtained without application and 
faithful and diligent study. There are some, 
who imagine that little or nothing is to be done 
on our part towards obtaining this knowledge. 
There never was a greater or more dangerous 
mistake ; and it is to be feared that this error 
has been the ruin of many souls. The fact is, 
there is no kind of knowledge that requires more 
constant and diligent application. It is true the 
same mental powers are not requisite to obtain 
it, as are necessary to excel in any branch of 
human science ; for the wayfaring man, though a 
fool, may be a proficient in spiritual knowledge. 
The Christian, however, cannot expect to grow 
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour, Jesus Christ, without a faithful and 
diligent use of those means which God has 
appointed. 

Among these, the unwearied study of the 



232 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

scriptures, deservedly, holds a conspicuous place. 
The Bible is the great source of information on 
spiritual subjects. We believe that a great share 
of that deplorable ignorance, which is to be 
found even among professing Christians, is owing 
to the neglect of the Bible. By a diligent and 
careful perusal of the scriptures, and by compar- 
ing one passage with another, many mistakes 
might be corrected, and much valuable and 
important knowledge acquired. It is strange 
how much information on subjects the most 
important, and which might be obtained with so 
much ease, is lost by neglecting to peruse the 
scriptures ! Is it because the Bible is so com- 
mon, because it finds its way, by gratuitous 
distribution, to the poorest cottage, that it is so 
little esteemed ? Shall the admirable facilities, 
that have, of late years, attended the circulation 
of the scriptures, prove the ruin instead of the 
salvation of souls ? Let those, who w T ould grow 
in grace and in spiritual knowledge, meditate 
day and night upon the sacred volume. Let 
them make it the man of their counsel, and the 
guide of their lives. Let them esteem it more 
precious than gold, yea, than the most fine gold, 
sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb. 
Attendance on the Christian ministry, is an- 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 233 

other and one of the most important means of 
attaining spiritual knowledge. It is instituted 
by God himself, who is pleased by the foolishness 
of preaching to save them that believe. We 
cannot sufficiently admire the adaptation of this 
means to the desired effect. How admirably 
calculated is the preaching of God's word, from 
Sabbath to Sabbath and from week to w 7 eek, to 
enlighten the understanding, and to give correct 
views of the subject of religion ! How many 
thousands, nay millions, are thus enlightened, 
and trained up for glory, honor, and immortality ! 
It is true, these means, when not improved, will 
only heighten our condemnation, and fit us for 
destruction ; but to those, who rightly improve 
them, they become a savor of life unto life. 

The last, and the most important and essential 
means of acquiring and maintaining spiritual 
knowledge remains to be mentioned — and that 
is, prayer. Without this, all the other means that 
have been named will be ineffectual. Without 
prayer, the scriptures will be as a sealed book ; 
and the preaching of the word a savor of death 
unto death. God will be inquired of by the 
house of Israel. He has commanded us to seek 
his face ; and, for our encouragement, he has 
assured us that they that seek shall find, they 
30 



234 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

that ask shall receive, and to them that knock it 
shall be opened. Let those, then, who would 
obtain and increase spiritual knowledge, be 
instant in prayer — looking to God to open their 
understandings, and to shine into their hearts by 
the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Thirdly, and lastly. We learn from our sub- 
ject, that the condition of those, who are perishing 
for want of spiritual knowledge, claims our com- 
passionate regards and benevolent efforts. 

This inference, did our time and the occasion 
permit, might lead us to make an affecting appeal 
to your sympathy and benevolence in behalf of 
the many millions of unenlightened heathen, who 
never heard the name of Jesus, nor the glad 
tidings of salvation through his blood. We might 
describe their pitiable condition in such a manner, 
as would constrain you, at least, to weep over 
their miseries, and, I trust, to extend a helping 
hand to their relief. 

But the occasion, upon which we are convened, 
reminds us that there are other claims, nearer 
home, which, in our zeal for foreign missions, 
ought not to be disregarded. The state of 
religion in our own country, although it gives us 
occasion to bless God for what he has done for 
our infant nation, at the same time loudly calls 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 235 

upon all, who are interested in the prosperity of 
Zion, for renewed, and vigorous, and persevering 
efforts. Although much has been done by the 
labors of our pious fathers, there yet remains a 
vast field for their posterity to occupy and im- 
prove. Even in New England — the most highly 
favored section of our country for the enjoyment 
of religious institutions and privileges — there are 
many dark places, where the Sabbath is not 
associated with the worship of God — where no 
sanctuary throws open its inviting doors — where 
no pastor breaks the bread of life — and no bap- 
tismal engagements designate the disciples of the 
Redeemer. And, if we direct our attention from 
this favored spot to the vast extent of territory, 
comprised in the federal compact, what enlarged 
and enlarging spheres of usefulness present them- 
selves to our view ! Here, surely, is a field in 
which the most expansive benevolence may have 
ample scope ! 

We do not say that all the good that can be 
done to the inhabitants of our own country must 
first be effected, before missions to the heathen 
are attempted. We have no such contracted 
views of the benevolent operations of the present 
day. We believe that the more zeal that is 
manifested for the conversion of the heathen 



236 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. 

abroad — the more interest will be felt for the 
heathen at home. But we do say that that is a 
false zeal, that professes to seek the salvation 
of souls in another hemisphere, and is utterly 
regardless of the welfare of the many precious 
immortals, who are perishing, on every side, for 
want of knowledge ; and we affirm that every 
judicious and well informed Christian will give 
to Domestic Missions an important place in his 
heart and in his charity ; and, while he cheer- 
fully aids in sending the blessed intelligence of a 
Saviour's love to the Hottentot and Hindoo, and 
rejoices in the marvellous change which these 
precious tidings have effected in the once be- 
sotted islanders of the Pacific — he will take, 
at least, equal pleasure in cheering, with the 
hopes of immortality, the small remnant of that 
unhappy people, who once possessed the lands 
which we now call our own, and once roamed 
through the forests which we have converted into 
the habitations of civilized man. Nor, will he 
feel less delight in being happily instrumental in 
strengthening the things which remain, and are 
ready to die — in reviving the hopes, and in 
brightening the prospects of those who once 
enjoyed better days — and in furnishing with 
the means of Christian instruction and spiritual 



SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 237 

knowledge the rapidly increasing population of 
our extensive country. 

It was with a view to the accomplishment 
of these important designs, that the societv was 
instituted, whose claims we now present to your 
respectful consideration and benevolent regards. 

If priority in associated efforts to spread the 
gospel — if the patronage of many distinguished 
and excellent men — if the unwearied exertions 
of those to whom executive duty has been com- 
mitted — and if a steady, uniform, and consistent 
endeavor to evangelize the aborigines of our 
country, and to supply with faithful pastors and 
missionaries many destitute parts of our Zion, 
constitute a claim upon the attention of the 
friends of piety and truth — then. ; The Society 
for propagating the Gospel among the Indians 
and others in North America. 5 will hold no in- 
considerable rank among the religious institu- 
tions of the present day. and will not be suffered 
to languish and decline for want of the vigorous 
and effectual support of an enlightened public. 

It is true, other societies, having similar ob- 
jects, have sprung into existence, and proffered 
their claims upon Christian benevolence. We 
rejoice in their multiplication — and, in His name, 
whose gospel they strive to promulgate, we cor- 



238 SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. SER. 9. 

dially bid them God speed. There is room 
enough for all, and for many more. May they 
ever go hand in hand in the prosecution of the 
blessed work in which they have engaged. It 
will not impoverish them to contribute to our 
funds, nor will it impoverish us to contribute to 
theirs. Let us give to each and to all, as we 
have ability and opportunity ; and relax not our 
benevolent efforts, until the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea. 



239 



SERMON X. 



THE POLITICAL ASPECT OF THE WORLD, FAVORABLE 
TO THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. 



EZEKIEL Xxi. 27. 



I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no 
more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give 
it him. 

The duties of the Christian ministry are 
wisely defined and clearly understood. It is the 
great business of the ambassadors of heaven to 
proclaim to rebel men the terms of reconciliation 
with a holy God. For this purpose they meet the 
congregated assembly from Sabbath to Sabbath, 
and urge upon the consciences and hearts of their 
immortal hearers, the imperative duties of imme- 
diate repentance towards God, and faith in our 
Lord Jesus Christ. But, although their first and 



240 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

principal duty is to endeavor to bring sinners 
home to God, by direct and personal appeals to 
their hopes and fears, their love of happiness and 
their dread of misery, — it is not to be expected 
that their ministrations should be confined to 
those subjects that have a direct and immediate 
bearing upon the duties of faith and repentance, 
but that they occasionally take a more extended 
view of the moral and religious condition of 
man — of the state of the world — and of the 
prospects of the future progress and glories of 
the Redeemer's kingdom. 

There are times and occasions, when such 
topics seem more suitable for public discussion 
than at others. The Sabbath is, and ever ought 
to be, especially consecrated to prayer and praise, 
and those religious duties which more intimately 
concern the relation of man to his Maker, — and 
it is never without pain that we hear subjects 
discussed from the pulpit on the Sabbath, which, 
although indirectly, it is true, connected with 
religion, have not an immediate reference to the 
sinner's duty to return to that God from whom 
he has revolted — and to the privileges of Chris- 
tians to contemplate the joys that arise from 
pardoned sin and the hope of glorious im- 
mortality. 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 241 

But there are other occasions, and the present 
is one, when it has been customary for preachers 
of the gospel to direct the attention of their 
hearers to subjects, more apparently secular in 
their aspect, although intimately connected with 
religion, and to consider the political bearing of 
states and nations upon the influence of religion 
and the spread of the gospel throughout the 
world. 

I make not these remarks by way of apology 
for preaching a political sermon — for the time for 
preaching political sermons, as they were called, 
has gone by ; and I take my people to record, 
that in those days of excitement, I was never 
accustomed to add fuel to the flame, by advocat- 
ing any set of political opinions. 

The subject upon which I propose to address 
you this day, it is true, may be considered 
political ; but it embraces no party politics ; and 
I flatter myself that I shall advance nothing in 
which all the friends of rational liberty in a 
republican country are not agreed. My design 
is to call your attention to the present political 
state of the world, and the influence it is calcu- 
lated to exert upon the cause of religion and the 
spread of the gospel. 

The words which I have prefixed to this dis- 
31 



242 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

course, were uttered in immediate reference to 
the approaching captivity of the Jews, and the 
dethronement of the last of their kings, Zede- 
kiah, from whom the diadem and crown were to 
be removed, while he and his people were to be 
carried away captive into the land of Babylon. 
This revolution was to be followed by a series of 
others, all of which were to issue in the disap- 
pointed hopes of royalty, until He, whose right 
it is to reign, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall come, 
to whom the mediatorial kingdom shall be given. 
The sceptre w r as now to depart from Judah, and 
a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh, 
the Prince of peace, should come. All the revo- 
lutions that were now to take place in the 
history of God's ancient people, were to be over- 
ruled for the furtherance of that great event 
which was to bless the world with righteousness, 
— the advent of the Messiah and the prosperity 
and perpetuity of his kingdom. I will overturn, 
overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, 
until he come whose right it is, and I will give it 
him. 

While the language of our text received its 
immediate accomplishment in the destruction of 
the Hebrew monarchy, and in the introduction 
of the Redeemer's throne, it may be expected to 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 243 

have a more complete fulfilment in the changes 
that are taking place, and are yet to take place, 
in the governments of the world, and in the final 
and complete establishment of the kingdom of 
the Prince of peace. 

No man of observation and reflection can have 
viewed the recent events that have taken place 
on the continent of Europe, with indifference and 
unconcern ; nor without serious consideration of 
their probable results upon the character and 
destinies of the world. We have seen one of 
the most powerful and interesting nations of 
Europe, passing through a most astonishing revo- 
lution within a few critical and important days, — 
dismissing the reigning monarch with the im- 
mediate expectants of hereditary royalty from 
the throne of their ancestors, and elevating to 
the vacant seat of regal power the man of their 
choice. We have seen, too, this most astonish- 
ing revolution speedily acknowledged, by the 
powers of Europe more immediately concerned 
in it and affected by it ; and although, to the 
attentive observer of these singular scenes, there 
may appear to be some remains of revolutionary 
disquiet that yet threaten the repose of Europe, 
still it must be acknowledged on all hands, that 
a most important, and remarkable, and eventful 



244 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

change has taken place in the policy of nations, 
that cannot but have a controlling influence upon 
the character and destinies of the world. 

It will not be so much my object to dwell 
upon the circumstances attending these recent 
events, to which I have alluded, as upon their 
connection with the cause of religion and the 
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. Al- 
though, as citizens of this free and happy re- 
public, we cannot but regard all the circum- 
stances attending them, with deep and lively 
interest ; especially those which more immedi- 
ately relate to our country's ancient, and true, 
and valued friend, whose happy lot it is in a 
green old age to see the same generous plant of 
true liberty, which, in his youth, he beheld 
springing up in strong luxuriance in this friendly 
soil — taking deep root in the land of his nativity. 
May his valued life be spared a little longer, 
to defend the tender plant from the rough hand 
of unprincipled licentiousness, and to interpose 
the weight of his character and influence between 
the misguided advisers of a deposed monarch, 
and those whose thirst for vengeance will be 
assuaged with nothing but their blood. 

Whatever may be the issue of these wonderful 
events that are taking place on the continent of 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 245 

Europe, there can be little doubt that it will be 
such, as will eventually promote the cause of true 
religion, and advance the interests of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom. — It is in this light that we 
wish to present the subject to you this day, and 
it is only with a view to lead you to acknowledge 
the overruling hand of an almighty Sovereign in 
the disposal of kingdoms and empires, and the 
superintending and controlling influence of his 
providence, in educing good from evil, and in 
restraining the remainder of that wrath which is 
not made directly to praise him, that we have 
been willing to deviate from our usual path, and 
to call your attention to the political state of the 
world. And we conceive that much practical 
wisdom may be learnt, and much animating 
encouragement may be received, from a contem- 
plation of these passing events, when viewed in 
connection with their bearing upon the moral and 
religious condition of the world. 

Those have not well considered the subject, 
who are not ready to admit that the form of 
government adopted by different nations, has an 
important influence upon morals and religion. 
That there are good men to be found under 
every political constitution, however arbitrary 
and despotic, will not be denied ; while, at 



246 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

the same time, we think it cannot be ques- 
tioned, that some constitutions are much more 
favorable to the progress of religion than others. 
In our judgment, popular forms of government 
tend more to the advancement of religion, than 
those forms where the power is confined to 
the person of the king, and the creatures of 
his formation. It has ever been found by the 
faithful record of history and experience, that 
in those nations where arbitrary rule has swayed 
the sceptre, religion has been cramped in her 
energies, and limited in her progress ; — while, 
on the contrary, in those states, where the 
power has emanated from the people, the mild 
genius of Christianity has been left to breathe 
in a free and wholesome atmosphere, and, un- 
shackled by human fetters, to extend her genial 
influence over multitudes, whom, under a more 
despotic form of government, she could have 
never reached. 

The first great experiment in modern times, of 
the advantages of a well-balanced republic, was 
tried, and has been successfully tried, by our 
own country ; and from the experience of more 
than half a century, we can bear testimony to its 
beneficial influence upon the cause of religion 
and virtue. In what part of the world has 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 247 

this cause prospered with such unexampled suc- 
cess as in this land of free institutions ? The 
Spirit of God has set his seal to our religious 
freedom, by his gracious influences, in such a 
wonderful manner, as has excited the admiration 
and gratitude of the friends of evangelical reli- 
gion in all parts of the world. We have seen 
the happy influence arising from an entire sepa- 
ration of church and state. In our country, 
religion asks no other aid from civil government, 
than liberty to live by its own energies; although, 
strange to say, there have been persons so 
blinded by prejudice, as to suppose that the 
friends of evangelical religion have attempted to 
unite it with the state, — a union, which, in this 
country, is impracticable ; or, if practicable, 
would be in the highest degree undesirable. 
So far from desiring their union, we view it as 
one of the most favorable circumstances attending 
our form of government, that such a connection 
is perfectly incompatible with the genius of our 
political institutions ; and, distant, far distant, be 
the day, when a different sentiment on this sub- 
ject shall prevail. 

It was naturally to be expected that the ex- 
ample of this country in attaining her republican 
independence should be followed by other states 



248 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

and nations. But the time for the successful 
imitation of our example had not arrived. The 
nations of the old world were not prepared for a 
revolution which proved so successful in the new. 
This country was originally settled by men, 
who, though connected with a monarchical gov- 
ernment, were republican in many of their 
opinions. They fled to these shores as a refuge 
from ecclesiastical domination, and from the 
resistance of religious tyranny; the step was easy 
to a resistance of political usurpation. They 
were far aw T ay from the seat of monarchical 
power, and, as an ocean rolled between them 
and the throne which they acknowledged, they 
easily began to question its authority, to remon- 
strate against its control, and finally to resist its 
usurpation of their rights. The general intelli- 
gence of the people, owing to the wisdom of our 
fathers in the extensive diffusion of knowledge, 
prepared them for the reception of that form of 
government, in which they were to take so 
conspicuous a part. These circumstances, w r hich 
tended so greatly to favor the American revolu- 
tion, did not exist in other nations ; and, conse- 
quently, the time had not then arrived for the 
introduction of republican principles into the old 
world, which had been for centuries the seat of 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 249 

monarchical and despotic power. An attempt, 
however, was made, which some of you remem- 
ber, and of which most, if not all of you have 
heard. 

When the French revolution first began to 
discover itself, about forty years ago, the friends 
of freedom cherished the hope, that the princi- 
ples which had proved so happy in their results 
in the new world, would be equally successful in 
the old ; but they forgot, that though the princi- 
ples were the same, the habits, and manners, and 
character of the people upon whom they were 
to operate, were essentially different. Their 
expectations were soon most deplorably disap- 
pointed. The most dreadful scenes of outrage 
and bloodshed were transacted, the very remem- 
brance of which sends a chill of horror to the 
heart. It was abundantly evident, that the 
people of France were not then prepared for 
republican institutions ; and from a principle, not 
uncommon in human nature, a reaction soon 
took place ; and the same people, who brought 
their hereditary sovereign to the guillotine, eleva- 
ted a comparative stranger to the throne, and 
clothed him with the imperial purple. But this 
state of things, though it reflected a temporary 
glory on the great nation, as they were fond to 
32 



250 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

style themselves, did not long continue. Insa- 
tiable ambition proved the ruin of the greatest 
military captain our age has ever witnessed ; 
and he, at whose nod kings and emperors were 
wont to tremble, lingered out the remnant of his 
wretched mortal existence, on the rock of St. 
Helena. 

From the same principle of reaction which we 
have already noticed, this disappointed nation, 
failing in their attempts in the establishment of 
a republican form of government, and sick of 
military glory acquired by such immense sacri- 
fices of human life, sought repose in recalling 
to the throne of their fathers that exiled family, 
whose blood had flowed so freely in the reign of 
terror. And here, one would have thought they 
would have reposed for years to come. But as, 
in their first attempt at the introduction of re- 
publican principles, they were before the spirit of 
the age — so now, in the sufferance of arbitrary 
and bigoted power, they were behind the spirit 
of the age. 

From an infatuation, for which it is difficult 
to account upon any other principle than that 
ancient saying, " Quos Deus vult perdere, prius 
dementat,"* their late king was induced to 

* " Whom God means to destroy, he first makes mad." 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 251 

control the freedom of the press and the elective 
franchise — rights which, perhaps, are valued 
more than almost any other, and to the infringe- 
ment of which, in this period of the world, 
mankind are peculiarly susceptible. Resistance 
was no sooner manifested than sustained, and in 
three short days, another revolution was effected 
in this great nation, the results of which, on the 
religious and moral conduct of the world, will 
not be fully known until they are discerned in 
the light of eternity, — but that these results have 
already been, and will hereafter be, still more 
favorable to the advancement of the Redeemer's 
kingdom, does not, in our opinion, admit of a 
doubt. God will overturn, and overturn, and 
overturn, until He come whose right it is, and 
he will give it Him. — And this is not a Bourbon, 
nor an Orleans, nor a Buonaparte — but One, 
with whom these potentates are not worthy to 
be named, — One, on whose vesture and whose 
thigh is written, King of kings and Lord of 
lords — to whom shall be given the kingdom and 
the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
heaven ; for the kingdoms of this world shall all 
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his 
Christ. 

That these events, which we have thus hastily 



252 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

reviewed, could be overruled for great good to 
the church, will be obvious from the following 
considerations. — That, by the new charter of 
government, the exclusive establishment of any 
particular form of religion is expressly rejected. 
It is well known that the Roman catholic re- 
ligion has always been the established religion 
of France, as it now is of Spain and Italy. The 
late royal family, it is also well known, were 
not only catholics, — but the king, particularly, 
bigoted to that form of religion to a very great 
degree. They were unfriendly to the toleration 
of protestants, — and many have been the suffer- 
ings which, during their reign, the persecuted 
protestants have experienced. Now we rejoice 
that the Roman catholic religion has ceased to 
be the established religion, not so much from 
dislike to that form of worship, for we believe 
that there are many excellent conscientious 
catholics, and we hope to meet many of them 
in heaven — but because we dislike the legal 
establishment of any form of religion. We 
should regret to see the protestant religion 
established by law. We should not desire to 
see our own peculiar sentiments, much as we 
regard them, avowed as the religion of the state. 
We wish all forms of religion in this respect to 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 253 

be on an equality. Give them but equal room 
and opportunities, and truth is great and will 
prevail. We feel no concern for the establish- 
ment of our own opinions. If they are correct, 
they will prevail — if not, they ought to be aban- 
doned. We view the late revolution in France, 
and the movements that are making in other 
parts of Europe and South America, as friendly 
to the propagation of religion, to free inquiry, to 
the translation and circulation of the word of 
life — the only charter of our civil and religious 
privileges, and our immortal hopes. We have 
no doubt, that where rational liberty is enjoyed, 
there religious freedom will be found in her 
train. Where no religious establishment is sup- 
ported by law, there is a greater prospect of 
the more immediate and general circulation of 
the holy scriptures — and where the Bible goes, 
there will go with it innumerable temporal and 
spiritual blessings — and there, too, will follow 
the heralds of the cross, to explain to a guilty 
world the meaning of the word of life, which is 
able to make them wise unto salvation. In this 
way the revolutions that are taking place in the 
world, will be overruled for the spread of the 
gospel and the advancement of the Redeemer's 
kingdom. God will overturn, and overturn, and 



254 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. 

overturn it, until He come whose right it is, and 
he will give it him. 

From the view we have taken of the political 
state of the world, and more particularly of the 
recent revolution in France, we may be led to 
several reflections appropriate to the occasion 
upon which we have assembled. 

It is a day of grateful acknowledgment to 
Heaven for the innumerable blessings, both tem- 
poral and spiritual, which we enjoy. What 
reason have we for deep and heartfelt gratitude 
to Almighty God, for our civil and religious free- 
dom — that, while other nations are now passing 
through, and have yet to pass through revolu- 
tionary scenes, which, in their mildest forms, are 
attended with many difficulties, and not a little 
shedding of blood ; we have accomplished our 
freedom, and can now sit under our own vine 
and fig-trees, having none to molest us and make 
us afraid. Let us then learn to cherish our 
invaluable institutions — the price of the blood of 
many revolutionary heroes, who struggled and 
expired in the cause of liberty — and let us be 
careful to hand them down, improved by the 
wisdom of experience, to our children's children. 
And while we cherish sentiments of lively grati- 



SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 255 

tude for our own civil and religions freedom, let 
ns sympathize with other nations in their joy, in 
having recently attained the object of their 
desires, in the establishment of free institutions. 
And let us not fail to implore the guidance and 
blessing of Infinite Wisdom, to preserve them 
from abusing the privileges for which they have 
struggled, and to teach them moderation in the 
use of power, especially in the exercise of it 
towards those who have rendered themselves 
obnoxious to their displeasure, by a system of 
policy, opposite from their own. 

And now we leave these themes, w r hich we 
trust have not been altogether inappropriate to 
the duties of this day, and turn to the usual 
congratulations of this festive occasion. We are 
happy once more to meet you in the house of 
God on the return of this ancient festival. 
Many, since the last anniversary, have gone to 
the world of spirits ; and those of them who 
have slept in Jesus, to spend an eternal thanks- 
giving in an house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens. Let us be followers of them, 
who, through faith and patience, now inherit the 
promises. 

Finally, when surrounding our own festive 



256 POLITICAL ASPECT. SER. 10. 

boards, and tasting the rich pleasures that flow 
from social and domestic life, let us remember 
those who are destitute of the blessings we 
enjoy — let us not be unmindful to send portions 
to the poor and the needy — that while we taste 
so richly of the bounties of God's providence, 
we may cause the widow's heart to sing for 
joy, and the children of want to eat and be 
satisfied. 



257 



SERMON XL 



THE FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS 



HEBREWS xi. 8. 



By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a 
place which he should after receive for an inheritance, 
obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he 
went. 

The occasion, upon which I have been invited 
to address you, is exceeded by none of our public 
anniversaries in deep and absorbing interest. It 
compares with none, indeed, but that, which 
recognizes our standing among the nations of 
the earth, as a free and independent empire ; 
a day, rescued, as long as the sun and moon shall 
endure, from oblivion, alike by the great event 
which it commemorates, and the astonishing and 
providential coincidences by which it has since 
33 



258 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

been distinguished. But to that part of this 
great nation, who people the shores of New 
England, and whose descendants have planted 
themselves in almost every part of this western 
continent, no anniversary can be more interesting 
than that which we are this day called to cele- 
brate. It is the anniversary, not, it is true, of 
our nation's manhood, when she sought and 
obtained deliverance from parentage, that had 
become unnatural, oppressive and tyrannical, and 
took her proper place among the nations of the 
earth, — but it is the anniversary of her infancy, 
and its return will ever be hailed with emotions 
of holy gratitude and fervent praise by the sons 
of the Pilgrims in every part of the land. 

That the occasion has ever been esteemed one 
of no ordinary interest, is evident from the respect 
that has attended its observance for a series of 
years. The ministers of the altar, and the most 
distinguished of our public orators, have succes- 
sively employed their talents and their eloquence 
in perpetuating the memory of those devoted 
men, who left the land of their fathers, braved 
the boisterous deep, and encountered the dangers 
of a savage wilderness, for the sake of worship- 
ping God according to the dictates of their con- 
sciences. While there is so much occasion for 



SER. II. THE PILGRIMS. 259 

all the descendants of the Pilgrims gratefully to 
observe the return of this anniversary, no one 
can doubt that there is a peculiar propriety for 
those of them, who profess to adhere to the same 
system of Christian faith, in which their fathers 
believed and on account of which they were 
exiled from their native land, to cherish the 
memory of those holy men, with whom, even at 
this distance of time, they feel a peculiar union, 
and an attachment, stronger than that which 
mere patriotism can inspire, springing from con- 
geniality of thought and feeling on subjects of 
the most momentous interest ; — for it will not be 
denied by the faithful historian of New England, 
that the religious opinions of that little band of 
devoted Christian heroes, who first made a lodg- 
ment in this western world, were most decidedly 
orthodox or Calvinistic. 

It is not our design, at the present time, to 
enter into a controversial defence of their reli- 
gious peculiarities, nor to condemn those who 
have departed from their faith and have embraced 
a more liberal theology. In this free and happy 
land, we would be the last to bind, by any other 
means than rational conviction, the descendants 
of the Puritans to the faith of their ancestors, 
much as we revere and cordially as we ourselves 



260 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

embrace it, — but, while we would allow to others 
the same right we claim ourselves of private 
judgment in matters of religious faith, we shall 
not be denied the satisfaction of feeling a peculiar 
interest in this memorable occasion, arising from 
our sympathies with our pilgrim fathers in re- 
ligious principle. Nor do we esteem it a thing 
of small moment that we are permitted to claim 
lineage in our religious faith with such men as 
settled the colony at Plymouth. Though we 
would call no man Master, and would ever keep 
our minds open, in accordance with the parting 
counsel of the venerable pastor of the church at 
Leyden, to all the light which may break from 
the sacred volume of divine truth — yet we would 
esteem it a source of unfeigned gratitude to that 
Being, who alone can preserve us from error, 
that, after the lapse of two centuries, there are to 
be found among the descendants of the Pilgrims, 
those, who are not ashamed of their father's 
faith — who believe in the same cardinal doctrines 
of revelation — who worship the same triune Je- 
hovah — and trust in the same atoning blood for 
the salvation of their souls. It is, therefore, 
most fit and proper that the adherents to the faith 
of the Pilgrims should cherish their memory, and 
observe, with devout gratitude, the return of this 
anniversary. 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 261 

In selecting a subject appropriate to the pre- 
sent occasion, it would be impracticable to mark 
out ground which had not been traversed before. 
Information respecting the early history of our 
country has been very generally and universally 
diffused throughout our intelligent community. 
It is, indeed, a circumstance, for which we 
cannot be too grateful, and which we owe to 
the prudent foresight and pious care of those 
excellent men, whose memory we would this 
day revive, that knowledge is so universally 
disseminated among all ranks and classes of 
the community. The establishment of public 
schools throughout all their towns and villages, 
will remain a monument, more durable than 
brass, of the wisdom and true patriotism of 
our pious ancestors. 

But, although we cannot dwell on all the 
particulars of their early history, it may be 
proper to notice the circumstances attending 
the event which we this day commemorate. 

The origin and settlement of New England 
may be traced to ecclesiastical tyranny. At 
the close of the sixteenth, and beginning of the 
seventeenth centuries, a severe and cruel perse- 
cution arose in England, against those who 
refused to conform, in every particular, to the 



262 THE FAITH OF SER. II. 

liturgy, ceremonies, and observances of the 
Church of England, and who, on account of their 
desires and attempts to obtain a purer mode of 
worship, were denominated Puritans. This ap- 
pellation, though probably given at first in 
derision, has become an honorable distinction, 
and is now used to designate a class of men, of 
whom the world was not worthy, and among 
whom New England boasts her progenitors. 

Such was the persecution which the Puritans 
experienced, that several of them were induced 
to remove to other countries, for the peaceable 
enjoyment of their religious privileges. In 1607, 
a small congregation of dissenters, in the north 
of England, under the pastoral care of Rev. 
John Robinson, being extremely harassed and 
persecuted, were obliged to leave their native 
land, and take refuge in Holland, that they 
might enjoy purity of worship, and liberty of 
conscience. Here they continued for several 
years, when they were induced, from various 
considerations, to project the plan of emigrating 
to North America. At that period this extensive 
continent was but little known. It was the in- 
tention of the emigrants to effect a settlement 
south of what is now denominated New England ; 
and for this purpose, they obtained a patent from 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 263 

a company in London, called the Virginia Com- 
pany. But this plan was singularly overruled in 
Providence. A part only of Mr. Robinson's 
congregation embarked in this perilous enter- 
prise, and, after having been devoutly commended 
to the divine benediction by their beloved pastor, 
who never lived to join them, they set sail, after 
several unsuccessful attempts, in the early part 
of September, 1620. After a tedious and un- 
comfortable passage of about two months, they 
discovered land, several degrees north of the 
place to which they were directed in their 
charter. Thus their charter became useless, and 
they determined to effect a settlement upon 
their own responsibility. After remaining in 
Massachusetts Bay a short time, exploring a 
suitable place for a permanent abode, they finally 
fixed upon a spot convenient for their purpose, to 
which they gave the name of Plymouth, in 
memory of the last town they left in their native 
land. 

Our time will not permit us to dwell upon 
their subsequent history. Many and severe 
were the trials which these religious heroes 
endured in the early part of their settlement. 
Their number, which consisted at their disem- 
barkation of one hundred and one souls, was 



264 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

reduced nearly one half by prevailing sickness, 
before the opening of the spring. Their pros- 
pects were gloomy beyond description. At a 
distance of three thousand miles from their 
country and friends — surrounded by savages, of 
whose disposition and intentions they were not 
yet aware, they must have been of all men the 
most miserable, had they not been supported by 
the consolations and hopes of the Christian faith. 
It was the religion of the gospel, that animated, 
and cheered, and encouraged those devoted men 
— that consoled them under all their trials, and 
strengthened them under all their discourage- 
ments. They were men of faith and of prayer, 
and the Lord did not forsake them, but gave 
them favor, even in the eyes of their Indian 
neighbors, blessed the labors of their hands, 
prospered the infant settlement, caused the 
little vine to take deep root and fill the land, so 
that the hills are now covered with the shadow 
of it, and the boughs thereof are like the goodly 
cedars. 

In calling your attention to the character of 
the Pilgrims, I might dwell upon that spirit of 
enterprise by which they were distinguished, 
and hold them up to your imitation as a bold 
and hardy race, who feared not danger, nor re- 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 265 

garded life, in their persevering course, — 1 might, 
as has often been done by others, enlarge on that 
love of freedom, which, at that period of the 
world, when liberty was hardly known in name, 
distinguished your ancestors from the age of 
hereditary rank and aristocratic pride in which 
they lived, — but themes like these would better 
become the orator than the preacher, and would 
be more consonant to a civic than a religious 
celebration. It is to the Christian character of 
our fathers, that I would, on this occasion, invite 
your attention, and more particularly to the exhi- 
bition of that holy principle of faith, which was 
never more strikingly illustrated in the history of 
any number of uninspired men, and which, in 
many of its peculiarities and attending circum- 
stances, possesses a strong resemblance to that 
heavenly grace, w r hich shone so bright in the 
distinguished patriarchal example recorded in 
divine revelation. By faith, Abraham, when he 
was called to go out into a place which he should 
afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; 
and he went out, not knowing whither he 
went. 

It will not be thought sacrilegious nor pre- 
suming, to institute a comparison between the 
ancestor of the Jewish nation and our pilgrim 
34 



266 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

fathers ; for every one, acquainted with the 
history of God's ancient people and with the 
history of New England, must have been affected 
with the wonderful resemblance between them. 
It is true, indeed, they were not called by an 
audible voice from heaven, nor by visions of the 
Almighty, like Abraham, to leave their country, 
and their kindred, and their fathers' house, and 
go unto a land which God would show them ; — 
but who shall say, that they were not moved by 
an impulse from heaven, operating upon their 
minds through the dealings of an overruling and 
all-directing Providence, to leave their native 
land, and seek a settlement on this western con- 
tinent, of which they knew as little as Abraham 
did of the promised land ? Who will deny that 
it was the same holy principle that operated on 
the mind of Abraham, that led the congregation 
of the pious Robinson to embark in the perilous 
undertaking of a winter's voyage to a land, 
where, at that period, but few of the civilized 
world had made a lodgment, and which was 
well known to be inhabited by savages and 
beasts of prey ? 

All the circumstances attending their emigra- 
tion to this western world, unequivocally demon- 
strate, that their undertaking, from first to last, 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 267 

was inspired by strong religious principle. It 
was faith, that holy trust and confidence in God, 
which is the substance of things hoped for and 
the evidence of things not seen, that sustained 
the little persecuted remnant, that fled over the 
stormy wave to a land of religious tolerance, 
while their less favored brethren, unable to make 
their escape, were surrounded by the emissaries 
of ecclesiastical domination. It was the same 
divine principle, that bound the exiled flock 
together in holy love in a land of strangers, and 
kept them, in the midst of foreign customs and 
habits, a distinct and separate people, — and it 
was the same precious faith, that led them to 
look beyond themselves and their own genera- 
tion, that their children after them might remain 
the same peculiar people. It was faith, that led 
them to bid adieu to the comforts and refine- 
ments of civilized life in the old world, and to 
seek their future abode beyond the waste of 
waters, in a land uncleared, untilled, and un- 
peopled by civilized man. We have reason to 
believe, that, in this momentous enterprise, they 
took no step without their eye fixed upon God, 
for light, guidance, and direction. Besides their 
private duties of devotion, they observed seasons 
of special fasting and prayer, in which they 



268 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

unitedly laid their cause before him, from whom 
all good counsels and holy desires proceed. On 
these occasions, several of which are on record, 
their beloved pastor, previous to their embarka- 
tion addressed them from the word of God, and 
strengthened their faith. On one occasion, he 
preached from that memorable passage in Samuel 
— and David's men said, Behold we be afraid 
here in Judah, how much more then if we come 
to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines. 
Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. 
And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go 
down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines 
into thine hands. On another occasion he ad- 
dressed them from Ezra viii. 21. I proclaimed 
a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might 
afflict our souls before God, to seek of him a 
right way for us, and for our little ones, and for 
all our substance. 

In all their previous steps and preparations for 
their important and hazardous enterprise, they 
appear to have been actuated by this divine prin- 
ciple of faith. They embarked in it — not like 
the first discoverer of the western continent, 
from a zeal for discovery, and an ambition to 
hand down their names to posterity as the dis- 
coverers of a new world, — nor, like many of their 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 269 

successors, from motives of cupidity and self- 
interest. Neither the love of gold, nor the love 
of fame, influenced the exiled congregation at 
Leyden in their emigration to the new world. 
Had the first of these motives operated upon 
their minds, they would have long before amal- 
gamated with the hospitable nation with whom 
they sojourned — and, had they been influenced 
by the last, they would never have left their 
native land, which held out so many inducements 
for honorable distinction. No ! — they were in- 
fluenced by higher, nobler, purer motives. It was 
faith in the divine promises, an assured trust and 
confidence in an overruling Providence, and a 
firm and unwavering conviction of the truth of 
God's revealed will in his holy word — that sus- 
tained them amidst all their trials, cheered them 
in all their undertakings, and animated them in 
all their efforts. It was the same holy principle, 
that led the Jewish patriarch to quit Haran at 
the divine command for the land of Canaan, that 
induced them to emigrate to this western world. 

The knowledge, which our fathers possessed 
of the western continent, while resident in Hol- 
land, must have been exceedingly limited and 
imperfect. Doubtless, they availed themselves 
of every source of information within their reach, 



270 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

of the nature, extent and peculiarities of the 
country to which they were about to emigrate. 
A few settlements had been commenced by the 
Virginia colony, and others. But so little had 
been effected in the way of civilization and im- 
provement — and so rare and uncertain was the 
intercourse between the distant colonies and the 
mother country — that, with every source of in- 
formation which the times afforded, our fathers 
could have known very little of the condition and 
prospects of the new world. To them it must 
have been as little known as the land of promise 
to the believing patriarch. They were actuated 
by the same principle of holy faith in the efforts 
and sacrifices which they made for the attain- 
ment of their desired object. Of these efforts 
and sacrifices, we can form but very inadequate 
ideas, at this distant period, and surrounded as 
we are by the improvements in the comforts and 
conveniences of life of modern times. 

In these days of refinement — when there is 
more luxury and extravagance on that very soil, 
which was at the time of the landing of our 
fathers a dreary wilderness and the abode of 
savage man, than existed in the long settled 
country of their nativity at the time of their 
embarkation — it is difficult to conceive of the 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 271 

sacrifices, which they must have made, and the 
hardships, which they must have endured, in 
leaving their homes and firesides, and in effecting 
a settlement in a savage wilderness. We are 
accustomed, in these times, to speak of the sacri- 
fices made by the missionaries of the cross, 
and of the trials to which they are exposed, in 
leaving their native country to preach the gospel 
in foreign lands. But what are they, when com- 
pared with the sacrifices and hardships endured 
by our pilgrim fathers ! The servant of the 
cross, bound to distant India, is as intimately 
acquainted with Calcutta, Bombay, and Ceylon, 
as if he had himself been a resident in those 
pagan cities, — and the little missionary band, 
w r ho have recently left our shores for the islands 
of the Pacific, are already familiar with the 
natural history of the places of their intended 
residence — the former and the present improved 
character of the inhabitants — the present state 
and prospects of the mission, and even with the 
names, if not with the persons of the individu- 
als, who are expecting to greet their arrival on 
those distant shores. Not so, with our pilgrim 
fathers ; — they knew little or nothing of the place 
where they intended to settle. They had no 
knowledge of the manners, customs, and language 



272 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

of the savage tribes, that inhabited the country 
where they expected to reside. All that they 
knew, and all that they cared to know, was, that 
it was far away from ecclesiastical domination — 
that there was no hierarchy, to control their faith 
and mode of worship — no star chamber, to test 
their conformity with fire and faggot — no royal 
prerogative of lordship over the conscience. Of 
almost every thing else, respecting the state and 
condition of the new world, they were ignorant. 
But they listened to the voice of conscience, as 
the voice of God, commanding them to go out 
from their country and from their kindred to a 
land which he would show them, and by faith, 
like Abraham of old, when he was called to go 
out into a place which he should after receive 
for an inheritance, they obeyed, and went out, 
not knowing whither they went. 

Never was there a more striking and complete 
exemplification of the power of faith in over- 
coming difficulties, that appeared to the eye of 
sense almost insurmountable — and in obtaining 
blessings, which, in the distant prospective, 
seemed wild and visionary — than is afforded us 
by the history of our pilgrim fathers. They 
went out, like the progenitors of the Jewish 
nation, not knowing whither they went — and 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 273 

their covenant keeping God, at whose command, 
so plainly indicated by the dispensations of his 
providence, they embarked on their perilous en- 
terprise, made of them, as he did of faithful 
Abraham, a great people and a mighty nation. 

Such was the faith of the Pilgrims, considered 
as a vital and operative principle. It may be 
emphatically said of them — They were men of 
faith. 

It cannot but be a subject of the deepest in- 
terest to inquire what were the particular views 
which they entertained of divine truth. On this 
subject we are not left in doubt. Their creed 
was well known, and will not be called in ques- 
tion by any. It recognized all those great and 
leading doctrines of the gospel, which have, 
within the last sixty years, been made subjects of 
controversy on that very soil on which they trod, 
and in the bosom of those churches which they 
planted. 

The fathers of New England were decided 
Trinitarians and Calvinists. Their doctrinal 
views did not differ from the articles of the 
Church of England. It was only in reference to 
their forms of church government, and their out- 
ward rites and ceremonies, that they felt bound 
in conscience to dissent. Their faith was in 
35 



274 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

correspondence with the formularies of all the 
reformed churches — and it is well known that, 
soon after the assembly of divines agreed upon 
that admirable system of Christian doctrine, at 
Westminster, our fathers deliberately adopted it, 
and uniformly taught it in their congregations and 
in their families. And it is not, until within a 
very few years, in the memory of many of us, 
that this most excellent summary of our religious 
belief has been disused in any of the churches 
founded by the Pilgrims. That those, who have 
openly and professedly departed from the faith of 
the Pilgrims, should have laid aside this religious 
formula, is not surprising ; but that those, who 
not only profess to agree with their fathers in 
their religious opinions, but zealously to contend 
for them, should have become indifferent to that 
compendium of Christian doctrine, which was so 
precious to their ancestors, is truly deplorable. 

It is much to be desired that the good old prac- 
tice of catechetical instruction, once so common, 
if not universal, in New England, was revived 
among us. While we rejoice in the system of 
Sabbath school instruction, which is the glory of 
the age in which we live, and in the use of the 
Bible, as the great text book in these little 
nurseries of the church, we must be allowed, as 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 275 

descendants of the Puritans, and as conscien- 
tiously attached to their faith, to express the 
earnest wish, that, in those families and congre- 
gations, who still profess to adhere to the faith of 
the Pilgrims, the Shorter Catechism may hold the 
same conspicuous place, that it occupied in the 
households and public assemblies of their pious 
ancestors. 

We do not contend for this, or any other sum- 
mary of faith, as, in all its phraseology, perfectly 
unexceptionable. There may be some few ex- 
pressions, for which we might have substituted 
different language. Our fathers were not so 
philosophical and critical, as many of their de- 
scendants profess to be, who agree with them in 
their views of religious truth. But, if their 
manner of expression was not, in every respect, 
such as would be used at the present day, no 
objection can, from that consideration, be urged 
against the doctrines, which they professed to 
believe. Modes of expression will vary with the 
times ; but truth is eternal, and can never 
change. 

The Puritans, if not so philosophical and 
critical in their use of language, were men of 
great learning, strong sense, and sound judgment. 
For theological science, they have not been ex- 



276 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

ceeded by any former or later age. Many of 
those, who constituted the first Plymouth colony, 
were highly respectable for intellectual power. 
Surely no man of candor can think or speak 
lightly of the religious faith of such men as 
Robinson, and Brewster, and Carver, and Wins- 
low, and Bradford. I know it has been said, 
that they lived in a comparatively unenlightened 
age, and that, had they lived in these days of the 
march of mind, they would have renounced their 
theological dogmas, and embraced a more liberal 
creed. 

The farewell advice of the beloved Robinson 
is often made an excuse for a wide departure 
from his faith. But can it be supposed, for a 
moment, that that truly great and liberal man, in 
that admirable exhortation, ever meant to coun- 
tenance such departures from the Christian faith, 
as the denial of our Lord's divinity and atone- 
ment, when he expressed his belief, that the Lord 
had more truth yet to break forth out of his holy 
word ? — They, who can indulge such an idea, 
must be strangely, if not perversely, ignorant. 
The Arian and Socinian heresies were well 
known to the learned pastor of the church at 
Leyden, and, doubtless, were held by him, as by 
all the orthodox of his day, as most dangerous 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 277 

and fatal errors. Nothing could be further from 
his mind, than to sanction them by his parting 
counsel to his beloved people. It is more 
probable, that he had reference to doctrinal views 
of minor importance, or to the order and disci- 
pline of the church, which, at that period, was 
the subject of no inconsiderable controversy. 
But, whatever might have been his meaning, he 
certainly could never have intended to have given 
the sanction of his venerable name to the revival 
of errors, that had infested the Christian church 
from the earliest period, when he exhorted his 
beloved flock to receive whatever truth should be 
made known to them from the written word of 
God. 

Let not that truly catholic and excellent 
valedictory of the pious Robinson any longer be 
perverted to favor religious views, which would 
have filled his holy soul with grief and with 
horror, but, in the true spirit of that remarkable 
document, let us ever keep our minds open to the 
reception of truth, by whatever instrument it 
may be communicated. Let us call no man 
Master — neither Luther, nor Calvin, nor any 
uninspired man; — but, while we are not ashamed 
to acknowledge, that we agree with any of them 
in their views of divine truth, let us make the 



278 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

scriptures the only standard of our faith and 
practice. This, we believe, is the true spirit of 
Protestantism, and the true spirit of the cele- 
brated and often quoted address of the pastor of 
the church at Leyden. 

We freely confess our attachment to the faith 
of our fathers. But it is not simply because it 
was our fathers' faith, that we feel this attach- 
ment. We readily allow, that our faith in those 
great truths of revelation, to which the Pilgrims 
gave their assent, is, by that circumstance, 
strengthened and established. We feel a satis- 
faction, which we cannot, and would not disguise, 
in the reflection, that our views of divine truth 
harmonize with those of our puritan ancestors. 
We cannot deny that our faith receives additional 
confirmation from the fact, that men of such 
purity of motive, of such strength of mind, of 
such a disinterested and devoted spirit, and of 
such active and persevering effort, entertained 
the same views, with ourselves, of religious 
truth. But if, upon an attentive and prayerful 
examination, we did not find the faith of our 
fathers agree with the law and the testimony, — 
highly as we revere their memory, we would, 
unhesitatingly, reject it. We acknowledge no 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 279 

other authority than the scriptures — no other 
Master than the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The sufficiency of the scriptures was the great 
principle of the reformation; it was acknowledged 
by our fathers, and we hope will never be aban- 
doned by their posterity. The Pilgrims took the 
Bible for the standard of their faith, and the 
regulation of their conduct; and the humble and 
diligent study of the sacred volume, with the firm 
and unwavering conviction of its entire inspira- 
tion, led to the acknowledgment of that system 
of Christian doctrine, which has been so long 
associated with their memory, and which, we 
doubt not, will be handed down, with the recol- 
lection of their virtues, to the end of time. 

The faith of the Pilgrims, therefore, is not to 
be regarded as of mere human authority, but 
as drawn, directly and immediately, from the 
unadulterated source of all truth, the word of 
God. No men more highly reverenced, and 
more laboriously and faithfully investigated, the 
meaning of the Spirit in the dispensation of the 
word, than the Puritans. Some of them were 
men of extensive learning and critical research, 
and, as a body of divines, we hesitate not to say, 
spent far more time, in the acquisition of profound 
and varied learning, than the active and stirring 



280 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

spirits of the present age. They were not only 
profoundly studious, but eminently holy men. 
They studied the scriptures on their knees, and 
wet the sacred pages with their tears. They 
lifted up their souls to heaven, with the prayer of 
the Psalmist — Open thou our eyes, that we may 
behold wondrous things out of thy law. Who 
will not reverence those principles, by whatever 
name they may be distinguished, that had an 
influence in the formation of such characters as 
our puritan ancestors ? 

It will not be denied, that any system of 
religious belief will, in some measure, be appre- 
ciated by the character of its disciples. By their 
fruits ye shall know them — was the test estab- 
lished by the divine Author of our religion. And, 
if we judge of the excellence of their system of 
faith by the effects it produced, we shall obtain 
a testimony highly honorable and satisfactory to 
the creed which the Pilgrims professed. That 
their characters were formed, in a great degree, 
by their religious principles, no candid man will, 
I think, be disposed to deny. What their char- 
acters were, as men of the purest and most 
exemplary morals, the impartial historian of their 
times will decide. 

We would not, blindly, receive the creed of 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 281 

any men, however excellent, and however de- 
serving our esteem and regard ; but we cannot 
withhold our admiration from those principles, 
which evidently had such a controlling influence 
on the minds and pursuits of the fathers of New 
England — which led them to make such sacrifices 
of personal ease and comfort, and, like Abraham, 
when he was called to go out into a place which 
he should after receive as an inheritance, to 
obey, and to go out, not knowing whither they 
went. 

On a review of the brief sketch, which we 
have given of the history of the first settlement 
of New England, and a consideration of that 
faith, by which our pilgrim fathers were so 
eminently distinguished, we are led to admire 
and adore the wonderful providence of God. 

We have heard with our ears, and our fathers 
have told us the wonderful works of God in their 
days — in the times of old. He must be a 
skeptic, indeed, who can read the history of 
New England, without acknowledging a particu- 
lar providence. The history of the Jewish 
theocracy does not afford a more unequivocal 
evidence of the special agency of Jehovah, than 
the history of our venerable ancestors. View 
36 



282 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

the hand of God in conducting the little flock, 
that sought refuge from ecclesiastical domination, 
from their native land to a neighboring country ! 
To what, but the suggestions of his good Spirit, 
can we attribute the design of emigration to this 
western world ? 

How signally were the circumstances, attend- 
ing their removal, overruled for good ! He, who 
holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, pre- 
served them on the mighty ocean, and directed 
them, contrary to their own design, to effect a 
settlement in this part of the country — a part of 
the country, prepared, as it were, in the most 
wonderful manner, for their reception — a fatal 
epidemic among the Indians, a few years before, 
having depopulated the place where they landed, 
so that there were none to disturb and molest 
them. Had they arrived at almost any other 
spot, than the one to which they were divinely 
directed, they might have found it exceedingly 
difficult, if not impracticable, to have effected a 
settlement. 

The hand of God is also gratefully to be ac- 
knowledged, in their subsequent prospects and 
success. With few exceptions, they experienced 
the most friendly attentions from their Indian 
neighbors. Little can we conceive of their 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 283 

joyful surprise, when the first native, they beheld, 
addressed them in their own language, — Wel- 
come, Englishmen ! — Welcome, Englishmen ! 
In the whole course of their history, the pious 
mind will not fail, gratefully to acknowledge the 
wonderful providence of God. Their descend- 
ants would be ungrateful indeed, did they neglect 
to make this acknowledgment ; for how great is 
our debt to that Being, who planted our fathers 
in this good land ! 

Let us dwell, for a moment, upon the wonder- 
ful change, effected in this western hemisphere, 
particularly in our own vicinity, within the last 
two centuries. — This land was once a wilderness, 
the abode of savage men, and of the wild beasts 
of the forest. No cultivated fields, no thriving 
farms, no comfortable dwellings, then met the 
eye on every side — no busy hum of industry, no 
songs of praise, no voice of prayer, then reached 
the delighted ear — but all was dreary, wild, and 
comfortless. No object relieved the eye, wan- 
dering over the gloomy waste, save where the 
curling smoke denoted the vicinity of savage 
man. No mortal sound disturbed the deathlike 
silence, unless it were the war-whoop, arousing 
the savage tribes to blood and slaughter. 

How different the scene we now behold ! On 



284 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

every side we witness cultivation and improve- 
ment. The cleared woods now open the most 
delightful vistas to the wondering eye. The 
splendid dwellings of the opulent, and the no 
less comfortable and neat habitations of the in- 
dustrious and enterprising — the lofty domes of 
the capital, and the innumerable spires that 
adorn our villages — the labors of the husband- 
man, the mechanic, and the artisan, united with 
the various employments of other classes of 
society, — the colleges, academies, and schools, 
which are continually watering, with their salu- 
brious streams, the cities, and churches of our 
God, — all conspire to produce, in the hearts of 
the sons of the Pilgrims, admiring thoughts of 
the wonderful providence of God. Truly the 
lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places, and 
we have a goodly heritage ! 

From a review of our subject, we perceive 
the power of faith, and the energy of religious 
principle. 

It was faith in the promises of God, and 
a regard to religious truth, that influenced 
our fathers in their emigration to this country. 
We do not say that no other principle is strong 
enough to lead men to leave their native shores, 
brave a boisterous ocean, and, in the midst of 



SER. 11, THE PILGRIMS. 285 

accumulated difficulties, effect a settlement in a 
savage land. Ambition, and love of conquest, 
have often done it. But we have reason to bless 
heaven, that we are indebted to the operation of 
no such principle for the settlement of New 
England. It w 7 as faith, like that of Abraham's — 
it was the energy of religious principle, that sup- 
ported those holy men, who landed on the shores 
of Plymouth. It was the same divine principle, 
that breathed through all their institutions, and 
made them perpetual, so that we now enjoy their 
benefits, and partake of their advantages. 

How strong, — how sacred, must have been 
those principles, which have not yet ceased to 
operate, and, we trust, will never cease to 
operate, as long as the sun and moon endure ! 
While we venerate the religious principles of our 
fathers, let us adopt them, so far as they were 
agreeable to the gospel. Let us remember, that 
it was their religious principle, that gives, even 
at this remote period, such a splendor to their 
character. While we would not implicitly receive 
their faith, nor that of any body of uninspired 
men, without searching the scriptures, whether 
it is agreeable to the sacred oracles, we ought to 
be more than careful, how we renounce a creed. 



286 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. 

which had a powerful influence in forming such 
characters as the fathers of New England. 

In view of our subject, we also perceive the 
blessing of a pious ancestry. 

The pride of ancestry, so far as it relates to 
birth, and wealth, and honor, cannot be justified. 
It is of little consequence, whether we are 
descended from a prince or a peasant — whether 
noble blood flows in our veins, or whether our 
origin is humble and obscure. But, surely, it is 
of no trifling importance, to be descended from 
pious ancestors ; for, in addition to the divine 
promise, that the blessing of the fathers shall 
descend upon the children, we may rationally 
expect much from the prayers, instructions, and 
example, of godly progenitors. 

The circumstance of having pious ancestors, 
furnishes a powerful motive to follow their 
example, to imbibe their spirit, and to imitate 
their virtues. Let us follow them so far, and so 
far only, as they followed Christ. " An affec- 
tionate and respectful remembrance of those 
worthies, who have laid the foundation of our 
multiplied enjoyments, 55 says one of our own 
orators, " is a debt of gratitude. We possess a 
goodly heritage, and it should heighten our sense 
of obligation, to recollect, that a generous fore- 



SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 287 

sight was a distinguished characteristic of our 
ancestors. An ardent desire to lay a solid and 
lasting foundation, for the best interests of 
posterity, influenced all their plans of policy, so 
expressive of their wisdom. In every stage of 
their enterprise, they were prompted by an 
enlightened humanity, and a prospective refer- 
ence to the happiness of their descendants. To 
contemplate the character of such men, is no 
less our interest than our duty. 

" Just men they were, 
And all their study bent 
To worship God aright, and know his works, 
Not hid, nor those things least which might preserve 
Freedom and peace to man." 

To be descended from such an ancestry, is, 
indeed, a high and inestimable privilege. Let 
us, then, my respected hearers, realize that we 
are the children of the Pilgrims, and let us live 
as pilgrims and strangers on the earth. Our 
fathers, where are they ? — and the prophets, do 
they live forever ? Several generations have 
passed away, since the scenes were transacted 
which have this day been brought to remem- 
brance. In a little while, we, too, shall be 
gathered to our fathers. The clods of the valley 



288 FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS. SER. 11. 

will cover our dust, and the spirits, by which it 
is now animated, will take their flight to other 
regions. Happy shall we be, if we can leave to 
our children such a legacy, as we have received 
from our fathers. 



289 



SERMON XII 



REVIEW OF MINISTERIAL DUTY 



GENESIS xxi. 38. 

This twenty years have I been with thee. 

It has been the custom of mankind in all ages, 
to perpetuate the remembrance of events by 
periodical observances ; and as a year is the 
largest division by which we are habituated to 
measure time, these observances have generally 
been annual, and thence denominated anniver- 
saries. 

The ecclesiastical and civil calendar is replete 
with days set apart by the Christian and the 
patriot, in commemoration of interesting and re- 
markable events in church and state. Almost 
every individual, too, has his days, the annual 

37 



290 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

return of which refreshes his mind with scenes that 
are past, either of a pleasant or a painful nature. 
The anniversary of our birth — of endeared con- 
nections in life — and of striking events in our 
personal history — cannot but be regarded with 
interest by every reflecting mind. The pious, in 
all ages, have been accustomed to observe, with 
meditation and prayer, the return of certain 
seasons, in which they have signally experienced 
the interpositions of a kind and gracious Provi- 
dence. And it must be granted, that these 
observances, where they are not unreasonably 
multiplied, are admirably calculated to promote 
serious reflection, and self-examination. Their 
return will be interesting, in proportion to the 
importance of the events they are designed to 
commemorate, and to the sphere of action to 
which they relate. 

The anniversary of an event, which may be of 
deep and thrilling interest to an individual or to 
a family, might be entirely devoid of interest to 
every one else. The same remark will apply 
to most of our annual commemorations ; to all, 
indeed, excepting those in which we are inter- 
ested in common with all the children of men, — 
such as the commencement of a new year, the 
birth of a Saviour, and the various eras in scripture 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 291 

history. Most of our other anniversaries are of 
a private or local nature, and derive their in- 
terest from the importance which we attach to 
the events they commemorate. 

To you and myself, my respected friends of 
this church and religious society, the return of 
this day is fraught with no ordinary interest. It 
is the anniversary of our union, as pastor and 
people — and is rendered peculiarly noticeable, 
because it forms an era in our history. This 
day, twenty years will have expired since I was 
solemnly ordained to the work of the ministry, 
and to the pastoral charge of this people. To 
me it is a day of peculiar interest, and I trust it 
is to many who now hear me, especially to those 
who were then committed to my pastoral care, 
and who, with myself have survived the changes 
that have taken place during that period of time. 
Much as I feel on this occasion, I would fain 
have kept the feelings to which it gives rise 
within my own bosom, were I not constrained by 
a sense of the duty which I owe to you, to 
endeavor to make a suitable improvement of 
the return of an anniversary in which you are 
equally interested with myself. It is unpleasant 
to me to be obliged to say so much of myself 
as I shall be under the necessity of doing, consis- 



292 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

tently with the plan I have intended to pursue, 
— which is, to take a brief retrospect of my 
ministry among you for the last twenty years. 

It is unnecessary to notice the connection in 
which the words of the text stand in the chapter 
from which they are taken. The coincidence 
between the number of years in which Jacob 
served Laban and the number of years in which 
I have endeavored to serve you in the gospel, 
being my only reason for affixing them to this 
discourse. — My object is to take a brief retro- 
spect of the principles upon which I have acted — 
the doctrines I have preached — and the events and 
changes that have taken place during the twenty 
years that I have been with you. 

The subject, I repeat it, is to me one of the 
deepest interest. It involves a large and most 
important period of my life. It embraces the 
strength and vigor of my days. In looking back 
upon it, my first emotions are those of deep 
humiliation. I sensibly feel that I have been an 
unprofitable servant, and am astonished at the 
forbearance and long suffering of my Master, in 
continuing me in his service. I am also over- 
whelmed with a sense of obligation to that 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 293 

gracious Saviour, who has been pleased, in any 
degree, to own my feeble and humble instru- 
mentality, to deliver me from severe and painful 
trials, and to continue to me, in the midst of 
many discouragements, as I trust and have rea- 
son to believe, a place in the affections of my 
people. 

First. In reviewing the principles upon which 
I have acted during the last twenty years of my 
life, if I deceive not myself, I have the testimony 
of my conscience that I have ever endeavored to 
act with a single eye to tha glory of God and the 
good of souls. These principles may be wrong, 
for I pretend not to infallibility. All I can say 
is, that I have never yet been convinced of their 
erroneousness, or I should have renounced them 
with the same frankness and decision that I have 
embraced and maintained them. The principles 
to which I refer, and by which my ministerial 
conduct for the last twenty years has been gov- 
erned, are these, — That there are certain doc- 
trines peculiar to the gospel of Jesus Christ ; 
and that among these, conspicuously stand, the 
supreme divinity and atonement of our Lord 
Jesus Christ — the reality of experimental reli- 
gion — and the necessity of a moral renovation by 



294 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

the special agency of the Holy Ghost, as essen- 
tial to the character of a Christian. On the firm 
belief of these opinions I have uniformly acted ; 
and have been unwilling to admit, as instructers 
of the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath 
made me an overseer, those who do not clearly 
and unequivocally preach these, in my opinion, 
essential doctrines of the gospel. 

These are the principles which, in the early 
part of my ministry, exposed me to severe trials, 
and which, to this day, have loaded me with 
obloquy and reproach. Let it be remembered 
that the extent of my offending has been a reluc- 
tance on my part to have my own people, so- 
lemnly committed to my watch and care, taught a 
system of religion which I honestly believe essen- 
tially defective. I have never presumed to judge 
others, nor to infringe upon the rights of others. 
I have uniformly been the warm friend and 
advocate of religious liberty ; and all that I have 
ever asked is, the liberty to feed my own flock 
with such food as I judged wholesome and salu- 
tary, and not suffer them to be fed by others 
who would adopt a regimen entirely different and 
opposite from my own. This was the offence 
for which I was brought before councils, and 
once excluded from this pulpit. My neglect to 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 295 

exchange ministerial labors with ministers of 
Unitarian sentiments was the well known source 
of the memorable controversy, which agitated 
this religious society soon after my settlement. 

On a review, this day, of those principles, after 
an experience of twenty years, I see no reason 
to change them. They have since been adopted 
and acted upon, not only by Trinitarian but by 
Unitarian ministers ; and it is now generally 
admitted, that the difference of sentiment is so 
great, as to render this course highly expedient 
and desirable by both parties. 

That much spiritual good has resulted to my 
own congregation, cannot be doubted. We are 
no longer a divided, but a united people, of one 
heart and of one mind — the Holy Ghost has 
accompanied the plain and faithful preaching of 
the gospel with his effectual power, and great 
additions have been made to the number of the 
church, of such as we hope will be saved — we 
are at peace among ourselves — our congregation 
has increased, as well as the church, and the 
places of those who went out from us, are more 
than filled by the accessions that have been made 
to our society. Have we reason to think that 
such effects would have been produced by the 
adoption and practice of different principles than 



296 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

those upon which I have acted ? We might 
possibly have been a more wealthy, and perhaps, 
though not very probable, a more numerous con- 
gregation : but should we have been so united in 
sentiment — should we have seen so many sur- 
rounding the table of the Lord — should we have 
witnessed such flourishing Sabbath schools — 
would so much have been done to promote the 
great cause of evangelizing the world, or the 
support of education, and bible, and missionary, 
and tract societies ? — God, I verily believe, has 
owned and blessed the principles upon which I 
have acted ; and although, for my persevering 
adherence to them, I may have made many 
enemies, and have encountered many difficulties, 
yet my witness is in heaven, and my record is on 
high. I have the testimony of my conscience, 
and some little success with which God has been 
pleased to own and bless my ministry. However 
others may differ from me in opinion, they will 
not deny that I have been consistent, and, I trust, 
will also allow, that I have been honest and con- 
scientious in my principles. 

I proceed now, secondly, to take a retrospect 
of the doctrines I have preached to you for the 
last twenty years. 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 297 

Before my settlement in this place, I distinctly 
informed my people of the doctrines I intended 
to preach ; and, at the time of my ordination, I 
exhibited to the ordaining council, a full, distinct, 
and plain confession of my faith. These doc- 
trines I have endeavored to preach for the last 
twenty years. When I came among you, I de- 
termined to know nothing, save Jesus Christ and 
him crucified ; and I call you all to witness this 
day, that I have been faithful to this determina- 
tion. 

The system of faith which I have endea- 
vored to explain and enforce to you during 
my ministry, is that which is usually termed 
evangelical, or Calvinistic. I have not been 
fond of dwelling upon the deep and abstruse 
points of this system. Secret things, I have 
always considered as belonging to God ; but 
things that are revealed, to us and to our chil- 
dren. My preaching has been rather experi- 
mental and practical, than doctrinal : at the same 
time, I have not shunned to declare to you the 
whole counsel of God. I have preached to you 
the entire depravity of human nature — the divine 
sovereignty — the election and perseverance of the 
saints — the divinity and atonement of Christ — the 
personality and offices of the Spirit — the nature 
38 



298 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

and necessity of regeneration — the necessity of 
immediate repentance and faith — and the inter- 
minable duration of happiness and misery in a 
future world. 

But I have not preached to you (as we 
have been misrepresented by those who are 
opposed to our religious opinions) the horrible 
doctrine of the damnation of infants, for I 
have never believed it ; and I never yet knew 
a minister of the gospel who did believe it. 
On the contrary, I have uniformly expressed my 
full and entire belief in the salvation of infants, 
and I have repeatedly stated to you the grounds 
of this belief, — not because I think they are born 
into the world pure and innocent, for I believe 
that they inherit from fallen Adam a depraved 
nature ; but because I believe they are interested 
in that full atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which is abundantly sufficient for the salvation of 
the whole world. And yet, notwithstanding I, 
and other orthodox ministers, have repeatedly and 
most solemnly declared that we not only never 
preached but that we abhor this doctrine — there 
are those who will continue to propagate this base 
slander, with a view to injure our characters and 
lessen our influence. — I have never preached, nor 
believed, that in order to be saved, we ought to 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 299 

be willing to be damned ; for I have ever consid- 
ered such a sentiment as a palpable absurdity. — 
I have never taken delight in dwelling upon the 
terrors of the Lord, nor in expatiating upon the 
miseries of the lost ; for I have ever consid- 
ered it an awful subject, and when I have been 
constrained, from a sense of duty, in order to con- 
vince sinners of their danger, to lift the curtain 
from the world of wo, it has always given me 
as much pain to speak, as it has you to hear. 

The subject upon which I call you to record I 
have most loved to dwell, has been the wonderful 
love of Jesus. On this I have never tired, but it 
is as new and as fresh to me to-day, as it was 
the first time I ascended this desk. I have 
loved to lead you to the fountain opened in 
his pierced side for sin and all uncleanness. 
How often have we sat together under his 
shadow, with great delight, and "oft when feast- 
ing on his love in rapture we have been." In 
my preaching I have ever endeavored to lead you 
to look into your own hearts. I have always 
considered that preaching as most useful, which 
leads the sinner to think of no one but himself, 
and the relation in which he stands to his 
Maker. 

Although my ministry for the last twenty 



300 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

years, has been in a period and in a region dis- 
tinguished for religious controversy, I believe I 
can appeal to you for evidence of the fact, that 
my preaching has not been controversial. We 
have been willing to allow to others the same 
liberty we claim ourselves — the right of private 
judgment ; and I have never thought it wise or 
expedient to preach against other denominations 
of Christians. Especially have I endeavored to 
cultivate a spirit of Christian union and harmony 
w T ith those denominations, who differ from us 
merely in external forms, and hold the great 
essentials of vital and experimental religion. 
With such I have ever lived and wished to live 
on terms of Christian and brotherly love ; and I 
desire no higher eulogy, when I sleep in the 
dust, than to be remembered as the friend of 
real Christians of every denomination. 

But with regard to the doctrines I have 
preached to you, and the manner in which I 
have conducted myself among you, it becomes me 
not to be more particular. You have known me 
for twenty years. And it is a satisfaction which 
I trust I possess, that however my motives may 
have been misrepresented, and my character 
assailed by an unfriendly, envious world, I have 
the confidence and affections of my people. 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 301 

Upon that, next to my trust in a higher 
Power, I repose in the midst of all my trials ; 
and it is a solace that cheers many a desponding 
hour, to reflect, that when this short life shall be 
over, and I shall be gathered to my fathers, I 
shall live in the hearts of my people. 

We are now, thirdly, to look back upon the 
events and changes that have taken place during 
the last twenty years ; — and oh, how many and 
great have they been during that period. One 
generation has passed away, and another arrived 
on the stage of action. How few remain, of 
those who were active and leading members of 
this church and society twenty years ago. 
Many have gone to give up their account. 
We might mention the names of several fathers 
of the church, and several mothers in our Israel, 
who are now with God ; but they are fresh in 
your remembrance. May we be followers of 
them, who through faith and patience now in- 
herit the promises. 

For the greater part of the time since the 
memorable controversy to which I have referred, 
we have enjoyed great peace and harmony as a 
society ; and rarely has any root of bitterness 
sprung up to trouble us. But it cannot be ex- 



302 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

pected, that, situated as we are in this vicinity, 
surrounded by congregations of a different and 
an opposite faith, that we should be wholly unaf- 
fected by the collision. 

The effect of extraneous influence will be 
occasionally felt, and there will always be some 
who will be shaken from their steadfastness by 
listening to the insinuations of those, who are 
unfriendly to this society, — but, with these una- 
voidable exceptions, we may safely say, that few 
religious societies in the commonwealth enjoy a 
greater degree of peace and quietness. 

We are a band of volunteers, enlisted, not 
from compulsion but from a willing mind. We 
have stood by each other in many trials. We 
have been through the war together, and to- 
gether have enjoyed the sweets of peace. Our 
covenant God has been with us, and no weapon 
formed against us (though many have been 
formed against us) has been suffered to prosper. 
Although we have passed through many changes, 
we have reason to bless God for our present 
prosperous and happy condition. The means 
of religious instruction have increased, an addi- 
tional place of worship has been provided for the 
accommodation of part of our society,* and many 

* In July, 1828, a chapel was opened in the flourishing village in the 
south part of the town. Since which, a neat and commodious meeting- 
house has been erected, and a minister settled. 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 303 

souls are brought under the influence of the 
gospel. For all this we have reason to thank 
God and take courage. 

In reviewing the events and changes of the 
last twenty years, it seems the proper place to 
introduce a summary of the various baptisms, 
admissions to the church, marriages, and deaths, 
that have taken place during that period of time. 
There have been 429 baptisms ; 344 admissions 
to the church; 163 marriages; and 347 deaths.* 
— Several of those I baptized in infancy have 
been admitted to full communion with the 
church, — and this fact is not one of the least 
interesting that the present occasion brings to 
recollection. It has been one of the most delight- 
ful of my ministerial duties to admit to the table 
of the Lord those who in tender infancy I so- 
lemnly consecrated to God in holy baptism. And 
when I look around me upon my numerous bap- 
tized children, who are fast growing up to man's 
estate — when I reflect upon the various snares 
to which they are exposed in the spring time of 
life, and of the great importance and value of 

* From the date of this discourse to the present period, October 1, 
1834, there have been 124 baptisms, 112 admissions to the church, 47 
marriages, and 105 deaths. Making in the whole since my ordination, 
upwards of a quarter of a century, — baptisms, 553; additions to the 
church, 456 ; marriages, 210 ; deaths, 452. 



304 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

early piety, I cannot but feel deeply concerned 
for their spiritual welfare, until Christ be formed 
in them. 

In giving this statistical account of the church 
and society during the last twenty years, we 
ought to remark, that in the number of baptisms, 
adults are included with infants, and with very 
few exceptions the administration of the ordi- 
nance has been confined to the infants of 
believers. — On my first settlement in this place, 
I found the prevailing practice of indiscriminate 
baptism, on what was very erroneously called the 
half-way covenant. Without any formal resolu- 
tions of the church on this subject, the opinions 
of our society have undergone a gradual change, 
and I believe the inconsistency of any other 
offering in baptism, than that of faith, is generally, 
if not universally acknowledged. It seems now 
to be understood by all those churches that are 
usually denominated orthodox, that the ordinance 
of baptism is to be administered to believers and 
their offspring only, and the other practice seems 
to be confined, in the congregational churches, to 
those who entertain different and opposite views 
from us on the peculiar doctrines of the gospel. 

We have reason for gratitude and humility for 
the additions that have been made to the number 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 305 

of professing Christians among us during the last 
twenty years. Of this number many have died, 
and a considerable number has been removed to 
other churches. Of the eighty-eight members 
which constituted the number of the church at 
the time of my ordination, but thirty-seven* now 
remain with us, and of them, many are advanced 
in life, and must soon be gathered to their 
fathers. 

The number of deaths has not been large, 
considering the extent of the congregation, 
averaging a little over seventeen a year for the 
whole period. Of late years, owing to the 
increase of the society, the number has been 
larger. In this list of mortality are to be 
found some of the most valued members of our 
church and society. It is remarkable that the 
church has lost but one of its officers by death 
during that period — but his loss was great indeed, 
for he was a host in himself. To his wisdom 
and prudence, to his decision and firmness, in 
times that tried men's souls, is this church deeply 
indebted for its present peace and prosperity — 
and the name of deacon Badlam will be handed 
down with the history of this church to the 

* Of the 37, only 16 remain. October 1, 1834. 

39 



306 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

remotest posterity — the righteous shall be in 
everlasting remembrance. 

In reviewing the events and changes that have 
taken place in this society during the last twenty 
years, it is proper that we notice the various 
religious and benevolent associations that have 
been formed during that period. — At the time of 
my ordination, the only religious associations of 
which I had any knowledge, were a meeting for 
reading and prayer before the communion, that 
was denominated a family meeting ; and a young 
men's society, usually held at a private house 
after public worship in the afternoon. This last 
society is of very ancient origin,* and has several 
times been revived" after it has been suffered to 
decline. It is now attended in this immediate 
neighborhood by several young men attached to 
this church and congregation. Similar meetings, 
I believe, have been, and continue to be, held in 
the north part of the town. 

Soon after my ordination, I endeavored to 
establish a female prayer meeting, and frequently 
conversed with the sisters of the church on the 
subject ; but as the plan was novel in this place, 
there was a reluctance at first to adopt it. The 
circumstances under which it was finally estab- 

* Instituted December 25, 1698. 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 307 

lished, are too memorable not to be preserved in 
this discourse. — On the 19th of April, 1810, a 
parish meeting was held with a view to the 
adoption of measures for the removal of their 
minister. What argument and persuasion could 
not accomplish, was immediately effected by this 
attempt to banish the gospel. A few pious 
women could no longer resist the call to 
united prayer, but, with one consent, they re- 
sorted together to the throne of grace on that 
day, to pray that God would interpose in their 
behalf — make the wrath of man to praise him— 
and turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolish- 
ness. That their prayers were answered, we 
are this day the living monuments. From that 
day to this, this female weekly prayer meeting 
has been continued, and I hesitate not to say, 
that I attribute what little success I have had in 
the ministry, and the present happy and flourish- 
ing state of our society, under God, more to the 
prayers of those pious women who have labored 
with me in the gospel, than to any other cause 
whatever. 

The other religious and benevolent associa- 
tions that have been formed among us, are a 
Female Benevolent Society, for the relief of the 
poor, instituted January 1, 1813 — Branch of the 



308 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

Norfolk Auxiliary Education Society, instituted 
1816 — Maternal Association, formed December 
25th, same year — Sabbath School Society, insti- 
tuted 1818 — Female Tract Society, instituted 
1822 — Gentlemen, Ladies, and Juvenile Associa- 
tions, instituted 1826 — and Female Working 
Circles, one for foreign and the other for home 
missions, instituted the past year. 

During the last twenty years, the sum of 
$3,802 57, has been collected by public contri- 
butions in this house, for various benevolent and 
religious objects ; and probably as much more by 
private subscriptions and donations to our be- 
nevolent societies. 

In reviewing the changes and events of the 
last twenty years, and particularly in considering 
the additions that have been made to the church, 
we are led to remark, that the attention to 
religion among us, has usually been gradual and 
constant. In but one instance have we been 
favored with any special excitement on the 
subject, that could, with propriety, be denomi- 
nated a revival of religion. In the year 1827, 
sixty-five were added to the church ; and the 
gleanings of this revival still remain to be gath- 
ered in. We cannot but hope that God will 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 309 

again pour out his Holy Spirit and revive us, 
that his people may rejoice in him. 

Having thus completed my design and re- 
viewed the principles upon which I have acted — 
the doctrines I have preached, and the events and 
changes that have taken place during the last 
twenty years ; had our time and the occasion 
permitted, I might have taken a retrospective 
view, on a more enlarged and general scale, of 
the state of religion in this vicinity, and through- 
out our country and the world, during that 
period of time ; and seldom, if ever, have any 
twenty years been pregnant with events of 
deeper interest to the church of Christ. But 
such a view would not comport with the time or 
the occasion. It will furnish, however, a most 
delightful and extended theme for the future 
historian of the church. We have time only for 
a few reflections that naturally arise from our 
subject. 

The preceding discourse is capable of a two- 
fold application. It applies first, to the minister, 
and secondly to the church and society. 

It has been said of some excellent old divine, 
that he never preached a sermon to his people, 



310 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

before he had first preached it to himself ; — and 
if ever there was a sermon that ought first to be 
preached to the author, it is the one which I 
have now delivered. I have been deeply pained 
to have been under the necessity of saying so 
much of myself; but I must say still more, in 
making this personal application. 

I am constrained to acknowledge that on a 
review of my ministry for the last tw r enty years, 
I feel justly condemned, not in view of the prin- 
ciples upon which I have acted, for I have no 
wish to retract them — not on account of the 
doctrines I have preached, for were this my last 
sermon and my dying day, I should desire it 
should be known that I lived and died in the 
faith of those sentiments, — but, on account of my 
many short comings in the discharge of my min- 
isterial duties — on account of my coldness and 
inactivity in the service of the best of Masters — 
on account of the many precious opportunities 
of doing something more for God and for the 
souls of men that I have forever lost. May God 
forgive me that I have not done more for his 
glory, that I have been such an unprofitable 
servant. I ask your prayers for me, my Chris- 
tian friends, that if my life is spared I may be 
more faithful in the discharge of my duty, and 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 311 

more devoted to God, both as a man and as a 
Christian. 

In the exercise of my ministry for the last 
twenty years, you well know I have had to 
encounter much and powerful opposition. The 
course I have pursued has made me many ene- 
mies. It was to have been expected. In the 
great religious controversy that has existed in 
this region, it was my lot to be placed in the 
front of the battle — and if I could have been 
removed from this watch-tower, it would have 
been the signal for a general attack upon other 
important posts. The duty I owed to the cause 
at large imperiously demanded that I should 
maintain my ground. It is not surprising then, 
that in doing this I should meet with enemies 
from those whose schemes were thwarted and 
plans defeated by my continuance here. I had 
embraced, too, the unpopular side of the ques- 
tion — of this I was well aware ; but I trust I 
have been willing to suffer affliction with the 
people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures 
of sin for a season. Entire justice to my motives 
and conduct I do not expect will be yielded till the 
fever of religious controversy has subsided, and 
not, perhaps, till after I have slept in the dust. 
But this I can say with the utmost sincerity, 



312 REVIEW OF SER. 12. 

that if I have enemies, they are enemies to me 
and not I to them. I freely and fully forgive all 
who have attempted to injure me, and I know 
not the individual against whom I harbor a re- 
vengeful thought. Were this my last expiring 
day, I would declare that on my part I am at 
peace with all mankind. Soon must ministers 
and people appear together at the bar of God. 
The secrets of all hearts will then be made 
manifest, and happy will those be who have 
maintained a conscience void of offence towards 
God and towards man. 

To you, my respected friends of this church 
and society, our subject also addresses itself in 
personal application. How have you improved 
the ministry of the gospel for the last twenty 
years ? To some of you we hope it has been a 
savor of life unto life, and to some of you, we 
fear, it has been a savor of death unto death. 
Have you not also cause for humiliation that 
you have not more faithfully improved the privi- 
leges of the gospel ? Let me entreat you, my 
beloved friends, to be more faithful and diligent 
and active for the time to come. In this event- 
ful day, you have much to do for God. You can 
do much to strengthen the hands and to encour- 



SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 313 

age the heart of your minister. Remember 
that he greatly needs your aid and co-operation 
in the great work in which he is engaged. Let 
not an unkind word, nor an ungenerous want of 
confidence, discourage his heart. He can bear 
the taunts of his enemies, but he cannot endure 
the reproach of his friends. But I bear you 
record this day, that, as a people, I have no cause 
to make this complaint. You have ever been 
kind and affectionate — much kinder and more 
attentive than my deserts. I have ever felt a 
confidence in your affections, and it is a source 
of inexpressible comfort. In few cases I believe 
has the mutual attachment between a minister 
and people been stronger and more constant 
than has existed among us. You have hitherto 
resisted all the ungenerous attempts that have 
been made by those unfriendly to us to weaken 
this attachment ; and I feel that my character, 
reputation and happiness are safe in your keep- 
ing. To God, and the word of his grace, I com- 
mend you, who is able to keep you from falling, 
and to present you faultless before the presence 
of his glory with exceeding joy. 

This discourse has been altogether retro- 
spective. We have been looking back upon 
40 



314 MINISTERIAL DUTY. SER. 12. 

what seems now the comparatively short term 
of twenty years. — Bat it seems a much longer 
time to look forward. When twenty years more 
have expired, where shall we be ? Solemn and 
impressive thought ! Many of us, no doubt, 
will be in the world of spirits. Upwards of 
three hundred of our society have departed 
during the last twenty years ; an equal if not 
greater number must leave us before the expira- 
tion of a similar period. — And who of us will 
remain? It is known only to Him to whom the 
book of life is always open. By the preacher, 
this extension of life is not expected. By many 
of you, who are his seniors, it surely cannot be 
calculated upon ; and to you who are now in the 
bloom of life, it is very uncertain whether it will 
be granted. O that we were wise, that we 
understood this, that we considered our latter 
end. Solemn and affecting are the monitions 
which we continually receive of our frailty. Let 
us prepare to meet our God. With some of us 
the day is far spent and the night is at hand. 
Let us do with all our might whatsoever our 
hands find to do, that when the Master shall call 
for us, we may be ready to meet him, and enter 
with him to his glory. 



315 



ADDRESS, 



ON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN 
INDEPENDENCE. 



We have this day arrived, fellow citizens, at a 
most interesting period in the history of our 
country. We have reached an elevation, from 
which we can look, both backwards and forwards, 
with admiring gratitude and exulting hope. 

Half a century has rolled away, since thirteen 
feeble colonies of Great Britain declared them- 
selves FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES. The cir- 

cumstances, under which this successful declara- 
tion was made, cannot too frequently be brought 
to your recollection. It was not an ebullition of 
party strife, that separated the colonies from the 
mother country. It was not an aversion to the 
land of their birth and of their fathers 5 sepulchres, 



316 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

that prompted them to renounce their allegiance 
to the British government. It was not a vain 
desire of national consequence, that induced them 
to throw off the colonial yoke, and assume the 
attitude of an independent power. 

When the spirit of a high minded people was 
first roused by the attempt to secure a revenue 
from the colonies without their consent, nothing 
was, probably, further from their intentions than 
to attempt their independence. Their only ob- 
ject was to resist oppression. This they unhes- 
itatingly manifested in their opposition to that 
odious act of the British parliament, which only 
tended to stamp its authors and abettors with 
disgrace. — Had the British ministry learnt wis- 
dom by the unsuccessful attempt to enforce the 
stamp act, the revolution might, at that period, 
have been, probably, arrested in its progress, and 
the provinces of America, though destined to be 
a free and great people, might have remained, a 
little longer, in quiet subjection to the empire of 
Britain. 

The infatuation of the British ministry, in 
prosecuting the hateful system of taxation, in 
defiance of the urgent and respectful remon- 
strances of the aggrieved colonies, and in oppo- 
sition to the warm and powerful eloquence of 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 317 

such men as Chatham and Burke, can only be 
accounted for from its connection with a chain 
of causes, which, under the all-wise superin- 
tendence of the great Ruler of the universe, was 
leading on to an issue of such vast importance to 
the destinies of the world. — Lord North and his 
associates, with their high ideas of parliamentary 
supremacy, and their fastidious and jealous no- 
tions of royal prerogative, accelerated a crisis, 
which, though it could not have been eventually 
prevented, might have been long delayed by a 
more prudent and accommodating administration. 
The fate of the first attempt to tax the colonies 
without their consent did not open the eyes of the 
British ministry. They continued to persevere 
in a system, to which they had become inor- 
dinately attached, and which they were too proud 
to retract. 

The same principle, which rendered the stamp 
act so obnoxious, was adhered to, in an act of 
parliament for granting duties in the British 
colonies, on glass, paper, painting colors, and tea. 
These duties, although trifling in themselves, 
were intended to establish the great principle at 
issue in the two hemispheres, and were, of course, 
immediately and resolutely resisted. The general 
and powerful excitement which these arbitrary 



318 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

measures produced in all the colonies, and the 
resolutions and addresses occasioned by them, 
together with a universal agreement not to im- 
port British goods, induced the parliament to 
relax in their arbitrary measures, and to repeal all 
the duties they had imposed, excepting a trifling 
tax on tea. It was evident to the discerning 
minds of the colonists, who were now wide 
awake to the designs of the British ministry, 
that this was only a pitiful attempt to evade a 
difficulty, and that they still adhered to the prin- 
ciple of unrepresented taxation. 

The difficulties might even here have subsided, 
— for the patriotic spirit, that then prevailed, had 
prohibited the use of the taxed commodity. But 
a combination between the British parliament 
and the East India company to enforce upon the 
colonies the use of tea, led to a train of conse- 
quences, which terminated in the declaration of 
that important event which we this day cele- 
brate. 

Our time will scarcely permit us to give even 
a brief summary of the events of the revolution. 
They ought to be familiar to every individual of 
this crowded house — to every individual of this 
extended empire. Hoary heads should teach 
them to lisping infancy, and generation to gen- 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 319 

eration should hand them down to our latest 
posterity. From the time of the destruction of 
the tea, in the port of Boston, the clouds began 
to thicken in the horizon of our country. This 
audacious act, as it was viewed by the British 
ministry, drew down their vengeance upon the 
town where it was so resolutely and yet so calmly 
committed. The Boston port-bill was the rod 
which they prepared to correct that seditious 
town ; but, like the rod of Moses, it became a 
serpent in their hand — and they fled before it. 
The distress, occasioned by the operation of this 
arbitrary measure, awakened the sympathies of 
the colonies, from New Hampshire to Georgia. 
It was an electric shock, that spread from heart 
to heart, — and, from that moment, they resolved 
to live or die in the cause of liberty. The 
gauntlet was thrown, and they had crossed the 
Rubicon. To look back was impossible. They 
looked forward, with steady eye, to the con- 
summation of their hopes, — their release from 
oppression, and their independence as a nation. 

If any thing could heighten the resolution, 
which then actuated the colonists, it was the 
knowledge of the preparations, making by the 
British government, to reduce them to obedience. 
Not content with setting father against son, and 



320 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

son against father, in this unnatural strife — not 
satisfied with levying their own troops to carry 
on a civil war — they employed upwards of fifteen 
thousand mercenaries from the continent of 
Europe, which, together with the savage barbari- 
ties of their Indian allies, they thought would 
be irresistible by the poor and defenceless colo- 
nies, untaught in military tactics, and untrained 
to military discipline. 

But greater was He, that was for our fathers, 
than they that were against them. An unshaken 
confidence in the justice of their cause, and in 
the smile of approving heaven, was a striking 
trait in the character of the heroes of the revolu- 
tion. Days of fasting and prayer were very 
generally appointed to seek the blessing of 
heaven upon the success of their arms. Minis- 
ters of the sanctuary rushed from their pulpits 
to the tented field, to encourage by their prayers, 
and to animate with their exhortations, their 
fellow citizens in the cause of liberty. 

And he, who, by the finger of God, as well as 
universal consent, was appointed to lead the 
American army in their arduous struggle — he, 
who was first in war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen, the illustrious 
Washington, was no less distinguished for his 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 321 

piety, than his valor. His ever ready acknowl- 
edgment of his dependence upon heaven, and his 
firm and unshaken confidence in the providence 
of God, both at the head of his troops, and on 
the floor of the national council, give an inex- 
pressible charm to a character, as perfect as 
humanity will admit, and a finishing stroke to a 
picture, which, as long as mankind are able to 
appreciate the beauty of moral excellence, will 
be the admiration of distant ages to the end of 
time. 

It was in the midst of this glorious struggle — - 
when the prospect before them was rather dark 
than encouraging — before they had obtained any 
hope of assistance from foreign powers — relying 
upon their own resources, and the help of their 
God, — that the British Colonies, by their rep- 
resentatives in Congress assembled, declared 
themselves free and independent states. 

After the declaration of independence, our 
countrymen began to feel the want of that 
regular discipline, which distinguished the British 
army ; and, for a while, success seemed to favor 
the cause of their enemies. Our different cities 
were, by turns, obliged to yield to superior force. 
The flattering prospects in Canada were blasted 
by the untimely fall of the gallant Montgomery 
41 



322 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

at the gates of Quebec ; and, though the friends 
of independence never despaired of its cause, its 
enemies abroad began to triumph. 

At that interesting crisis of our public affairs, 
a young nobleman in France, of high distinction, 
enthusiastically attached to the cause of liberty — 
not deterred by the gloomy prospects of the 
country, nor discouraged by the American com- 
missioners at Paris, who thought it but honest to 
dissuade him from the perilous enterprise, em- 
barked his fortune and his life in the cause of 
American Independence. Such disinterested 
heroism, such ardent patriotism would have 
seemed more like the high-wrought picture of 
the imagination, had we not twice proved its 
reality, — once by the substantial services of the 
youthful warrior, and once again, after the expi- 
ration of nearly half a century, by embracing, 
with our warmest affection, and welcoming to 
these shores of freedom — the venerable La- 
fayette. 

With what inexpressible emotions will the 
patriot Sage, whose presence gave such intense 
interest but a year ago, to the celebration on the 
heights of Charlestown, regard this Jubilee of 
our Independence, in the bosom of his family, 
and in the quiet of La Grange ! 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 323 

Happy man ! and happy nation who can rank 
him among her adopted sons ! May the close of 
his life be as serene, as its career has been 
glorious, — and, when his earthly course shall be 
finished, may his memory descend, with increas- 
ing freshness, to the remotest age, while a 
monument, more durable than brass, is raised in 
the heart of every American, bearing the asso- 
ciated names of Washington and Lafayette. 

With the acknowledgment of our independ- 
ence by the court of France, which soon took 
place through the unwearied exertions of the 
illustrious Franklin and his associates, and the 
efficient aid to be expected from our new allies 
— the prospects of our infant nation began to 
brighten. The memorable capture of Burgoyne, 
in the preceding campaign, had restored anima- 
tion to the sinking spirits of the newly formed 
States, and, together with the alliance of the 
king of France, gave new life to their high enter- 
prise. There now scarcely remained a doubt in 
reflecting minds, that, however long the struggle 
might be protracted, the independence of the 
United States was secure. 

We will not trace the events of the Revolution, 
from the capture of Burgoyne in the north, to the 
surrender of Cornwallis in the south. — With this 



324 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

last failure of their arms, the hope of the British 
ministry, to reduce the colonies to submission, 
seemed to expire. Nothing now remained but 
to acknowledge, with the best grace they could, 
that independence, which could no longer be 
withheld. 

Thus terminated a revolution, unparalleled in 
the historv of mankind — and thus arose a nation 
to her place among the nations of the earth, 
which is destined to exert a most powerful influ- 
ence over the habitable world. 

The independence of the United States, with 
the subsequent formation of its constitution of 
government, was considered an experiment in 
the history of republics. The experiment has 
now been tested by the experience of half a 
century. Many were the forebodings of the 
friends of monarchical and aristocratical govern- 
ments, that, long before the expiration of half 
a century, this infant republic would become a 
prey to faction, and be rent with internal division. 
Even her friends were anxious with respect to 
the result of this great experiment. They re- 
membered the history of other republics, and, 
while they hoped to avoid the rocks upon which 
they were wrecked, they could not but feel the 
most intense solicitude respecting their own final 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 325 

success. — Their most sanguine expectations have 
been more than realized, — and those early friends 
of the revolution, who this day survive, have the 
unutterable satisfaction of beholding the liberties, 
for which they fought, strengthened with the 
growth of half a century, and the government of 
their choice, consolidated on a basis so firm and 
strong as to remove all doubts of its continuance 
and perpetuity. 

Experience has proved that there was a 
stamina in the constitution of the American 
republic, which was wanting in the republics of 
former and later times. This stamina is the 
intelligence and moral sense of the people. The 
universal diffusion of education among all classes 
of the community and the influence of moral and 
religious principle, formed a broad foundation, 
upon which to erect a government, that will 
stand, we trust, for ages, as a confutation of the 
long received opinion of the instability of re- 
publican institutions.— -For want of this, the 
boasted republics of Greece and Rome lost their 
glory, and the later experiment among the people 
of France utterly failed. 

It is not every people that are capable of being 
free ; and of maintaining and preserving their 
freedom. The American nation has shown to 



326 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

the world that she knows how both to appreciate 
and preserve the blessings of liberty. While she 
is justly regarded as chief among republics, let 
all those, who would imitate the model of her 
government, be careful to lay the same broad 
foundation in general education, piety, and virtue. 
Then, and not till then, will their liberties be 
complete, and their independence secure. 

The present condition of our country is such, 
as must fill every patriotic bosom with admiring 
gratitude. The rapid increase of our population 
from three to twelve millions of people — the 
addition of several new States to the original 
confederation — and the present unexampled pros- 
perity of our nation, are subjects upon which we 
might dwell with untiring delight. But the time 
devoted to this exercise will not admit of further 
enlargement. We can only offer to each other 
our mutual congratulations on this auspicious 
occasion, and unite in fervent thanksgivings to 
that sovereign Power, who fixes the bounds of 
our habitation, that the lines have fallen to us in 
such pleasant places, and that we have such a 
goodly heritage. 

What obligations do we not owe those illustri- 
ous men, by whose wisdom and valor, by whose 
patience and self-denial, we obtained the blessings 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 327 

of liberty and independence! — Heroes and states- 
men of the revolution! we would, this day, offer 
the tribute of our gratitude to your revered 
memory. We would cherish the recollection of 
your deeds of valor, and teach our children the 
story of your high achievement. — Within the 
lapse of half a century, how many of these 
distinguished men have been numbered with the 
dead ! Some of them remain, however, to this 
day, — and we are yet permitted to number, in 
the list of living worthies, an uninterrupted 
succession of the chief magistrates of our country 
since the administration of Washington. — Vener- 
able men ! we congratulate you on the arrival of 
this national jubilee. We rejoice that a gracious 
Providence has protracted your lives to this 
interesting period in the history of our country ! 
If any thing can increase the satisfaction you 
feel on this memorable day, it must be the con- 
sideration that the chair, which you so long 
occupied, is filled by one, who inherits your 
virtues, and walks in your steps. Rising superior 
to cotemporary jealousies and sectional partiali- 
ties, we doubt not that he will retain the con- 
fidence of the nation, and that his administration, 
like that of his predecessors, will be alike 
honorable to himself, and to his country. 



328 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

But, while we rejoice that so many of the 
patriots of the revolution jet survive, our joy is 
chastened by the intelligence we have, this 
moment, received, that the revered and honored 
parent of our beloved chief magistrate is ap- 
proaching the confines of the eternal world. In 
the midst of the pleasant recollections and fes- 
tivities of this occason, we cannot but pause to 
notice this most striking and solemn dispensation 
of the providence of Almighty God. The hand, 
that subscribed the Declaration of our Indepen- 
dence fifty years ago, is, while we are speaking, 
stiffening in death. The spirit, which was so 
actively employed for the good of this nation, is, 
perhaps, at this passing hour, taking its upward 
flight from its earthly tabernacle and this sub- 
lunary state.* 

But what reason have we for gratitude, that a 
life so valuable, has been spared so long ; and 
that the venerable man has lived to see his son 
occupying the same high station which he once 
filled, and to leave his country, at the close of 
half a century, not only free and independent, 
but in a condition of unexampled prosperity. 
Although his expected removal is calculated to 

* President Adams departed this life at half past six o'clock, P. M.. 
July 4, 1826. 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 329 

cast a gloom over this joyous occasion, we may 
say with the sons of the prophets, when their 
master was taken from them, — The spirit of 
Elijah rests upon Elisha. 

In dwelling upon the present happy and 
prosperous state of our nation, we would not 
reflect, with haughty self-complacency, upon the 
governments and people of Europe, nor magnify 
the value of our national privileges by a contrast 
with the defects in their systems of government. 
There has been too strong a disposition to boast 
of our liberties, and to consider ourselves the 
only free and happy people on the face of the 
earth. 

The excitement produced in our revolutionary 
struggle, by the infatuated conduct of a mis- 
guided administration, served to blind some of 
the friends of liberty to the excellence of the 
British constitution itself, and to induce them to 
regard all the inhabitants of Britain as inimical 
as their ministry. But it ought not to be for- 
gotten, that, during the heat of the controversy, 
there was always a party in favor of the strug- 
gling colonies, and that most of the eloquence 
and talents both of the Lords and Commons, 
were decidedly opposed to the measures of gov- 
ernment. 

42 



330 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

The American party in England has been 
growing stronger and stronger since the ac- 
knowledgment of our independence ; and the 
events of the last war, whatever might be the 
views of its justice and expediency, have served 
greatly to raise the American character in the 
estimation of the nations of Europe. Her flag is 
now respected wherever it waves. And — since 
she has proved herself able to cope with that 
power, which once styled herself the mistress 
of the ocean — America has nothing to fear from 
insults at sea, or invasion at home. Safe from 
all danger of foreign aggression, she may now 
devote herself to the arts of peace — to the im- 
portant objects of internal improvement — to the 
cultivation of her soil, and to the encouragement 
of those necessary manufactures, which will 
render her as independent in her resources, as 
she is in the constitution of her government. 

The spirit of improvement appears to be 
spreading through every part of our country, and 
new objects of enterprise, and new sources of 
wealth, are calling forth the energies of our 
growing population, and adding fresh beauty, 
increasing convenience, and substantial advan- 
tages to our highly favored land. It is difficult 
for the imagination to conceive the mighty results 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 331 

of this spirit, at the completion of the remaining 
part of the centennial existence of this nation. 
Whoever lives to see that period, will witness a 
surprising change in the natural, intellectual and 
moral condition of our country. Not one of the 
actors in the revolution will then be living, to 
tell the story of his nation's birth ; — but the 
generation, which will then fill their places, born 
under the shadow of liberty, and nurtured in the 
school of freedom, will, we trust, adhere, with 
undeviating firmness, to the principles of their 
fathers, and prove to mankind, that the human 
character, instead of deteriorating, rises, in in- 
tellectual and moral excellence in the western 
world. 

We cannot but indulge the pleasing expecta- 
tion, that the close of the century will find these 
United States, not only, as at present, free and 
independent, but rich in resources and strong in 
power, — that no civil discord will interrupt their 
union, but, bound together by ties, strengthened 
and confirmed by time, they will present an 
object of admiration to their friends, and an 
invincible phalanx to their foes. — In the mean 
time, we, who are now in active life, have duties 
to perform, and responsibilities to meet, as mem- 
bers of this rising empire. Let us remember, 



332 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

that the welfare and glory of our nation is inti- 
mately connected with the principles we imbibe, 
and the characters we sustain. Realizing the 
vast importance of knowledge, morality and re- 
ligion to the existence and perpetuity of our 
republic, let us diligently foster all those insti- 
tutions whose object is to extend their influence. 
Especially let us ever remember, that religion 
is the best and only security for the continuance 
of our liberties. 

As a minister of the everlasting gospel of Jesus 
Christ, as well as the orator of your appointment, 
I feel it to be my indispensable duty, on this 
occasion, so deeply interesting to our beloved 
country, to urge upon you the supreme and 
paramount importance of the Christian faith. 
As descendants of the Pilgrims, who sought 
these shores two centuries ago, to enjoy unmo- 
lested the rights of conscience, this audience, 
surely, need not be reminded of the duties, of 
the blessings, and the hopes of Christianity, nor 
need they be told, that they only are truly free, 
who are liberated from the bondage of sin and 
the service of Satan, by the grace of the Son of 
God. 

How can an ambassador of Jesus Christ close 
an address of this kind, with more propriety, than 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 333 

by directing the attention of this great assembly, 
from scenes of oppression and contest, to the 
peaceful dominion of the King of Zion — from 
the tribute of gratitude, so justly due to the 
saviour of his country, to the praise of him who 
died to save a world ! 

It becomes, then, the character of the speaker 
and this sacred place, to lead your thoughts to, 
subjects of higher interest than the concerns of 
time — to remind you of your accountability to 
that Being, in whose sight all the nations of the 
earth are as a drop of the bucket and the small 
dust of the balance. Before his dread tribunal 
heroes and statesmen, rulers and people must one 
day stand, with unnumbered millions of the 
human family. Comparatively trifling, then, will 
be the distinctions of government, the pride of 
kings, and the glory of republics. Happy will 
they be, who have been made free from sin by 
the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God, 
of whatever nation, kindred, tongue and people, 
while they will have forever to deplore their 
wretched condition, who have rejected a Saviour 
and indulged in iniquity, though they might have 
lived under the purest government, and enjoyed 
the highest privileges. 

With the joyous celebration of this day, let a 



334 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 

deep sense of our obligations to heaven, and our 
accountability to the Judge of men be united. 
Let religion chasten the festivities of the occa- 
sion ; and let us remember, that as Christians, 
as well as citizens, we have abundant cause for 
grateful acknowledgment and fervent praise. 
In imitation of God's ancient people, let us, this 
day, cause the trumpet of Jubilee to sound 
throughout all the land, and let us hallow the 
fiftieth year and proclaim LIBERTY throughout 
all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof. 

In the general and almost universal celebration 
of this national jubilee, the inhabitants of this 
ancient town are happy, most cordially, to unite. 
A few are yet remaining with us, who remember 
the scenes of the Revolution ; and the memorable 
heights of Dorchester, although now annexed to 
the neighboring capital, will ever be associated, 
in the history of this town, with deeds of former 
years. 

We may well congratulate ourselves, not only 
on the blessings of liberty and independence 
which we enjoy, in common with our fellow 
citizens of this happy republic, but on our 
peculiar local advantages. In the immediate 
vicinity of the capital of New England — possess- 
ing a soil, strong and fertile, and streams, 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 335 

favorable to manufacturing enterprise ; with 
scenery, almost unparalleled for its beauty and 
variety — the farmer, the mechanic, the manufac- 
turer, and the man of retirement from business, 
can scarcely find a spot in New England more 
conducive to his comfort and more favorable to 
his pursuits. 

To all these local advantages, if we may add 
the prevalence of good and friendly feeling — of 
moral and religious principle — we need nothing 
mere to render our situation as desirable as any 
part of our extensive country. Let us, then, 
cultivate these feelings and cherish these prin- 
ciples. 

On this our national birthday, let us unite, 
as a band of brothers, in all the interesting 
recollections and social enjoyments of the occa- 
sion ; and, while w 7 e cherish the memory of the 
patriots of former years, let us endeavor to act 
well our parts on the stage of life, and to 
transmit to our children the liberties so dearly 
purchased by the blood of our fathers. 



336 



ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT HULL, JUNE 11, 1830, IN COMMEMORA- 
TION OF THE LANDING OF THE DORCHESTER 
SETTLERS. 



This day completes a second century, since 
the first settlers of the town of Dorchester 
landed in this western world. It was on the 
30th day of May, O. S., 1630, corresponding to 
the. 11th of June, 1830, N. S., that a ship, called 
the Mary and John, commanded by Capt. Squeb, 
arrived at this place, w 7 here we are now assem- 
bled, and landed her passengers, consisting of 
two eminently pious and devoted ministers, Rev. 
John Wareham, and Rev. John Maverick, with 
the members of their church, which had been 
gathered with a view of emigrating to America, 
in the beginning of the same year, in the new 
hospital in Plymouth, England ; at which time 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 337 

and place, those holy men were solemnly set 
apart to the pastoral office, after having observed 
a day of fasting and prayer to seek divine appro- 
bation and assistance. 

The Rev. Mr. John White, of Dorchester, in 
the county of Dorset, England, who was an 
active instrument in promoting the settlement of 
New England, being present, preached in the 
fore part of the day, and in the latter part of the 
day the newly installed pastors performed. 

They set sail on the 30th of March following, 
in a vessel of four hundred tons, and arrived at 
Nantasket, as I have observed, on the 30th of 
May, where the captain put them ashore, not- 
withstanding his engagement w r as to bring them 
up Charles river. 

With regard to their passage, I have not been 
able to collect such particular information as 
could be desired. It is said in Blake's Manu- 
script Annals, a book which contains much infor- 
mation of the early history of Dorchester, that 
the ministers either preached or exhorted, every 
day on their passage, from the word of God. 
There is reason to think, from an old poem writ- 
ten by Gov. Wolcott, of Connecticut, that they 
had a boisterous passage, and were in danger of 
foundering at sea. As it is so pertinent to this 
43 



338 LANDING OF THE 

occasion, I shall take the liberty of quoting a 
part of this singular poem, commemorating the 
events which we this day celebrate. 

Speaking of the piety of the first settlers of 
Connecticut, to which colony many of the 
church, that arrived in this place two hundred 
years ago, afterwards removed, the poet says, 

" If to declare their worth, is what you ask, 
Then I must beg your pardon. That's a task 
So worthy due performance, and so great, 
As goes beyond my utterance and conceit. 
Bat virtue never fails. Succeeding days 
Shall much regard their merits, and shall raise 
Men of bright parts, and moving oratory, 
Who shall emblazon their immortal glory. 
Religion was the cause. Divinity 
Having declared the gospel's shine should be 
Extensive as the sun's diurnal shine. 
This moved our founders to this great design, 
And sure the Holy Spirit from above, 
That first did quickening on the waters move, 
Inspired their minds and filled them with intents 
To bring to pass such glorious events. 
And now they wholly to this work devote, 
Mind not the country they are going out, 
Their ancient homes they leave to come no more, 
Their weeping friends and kindred on the shore, 
They bid adieu, and, with an aching heart, 
Shake hands — 'tis hard when dearest friends must part. 
But here they part, and leave their parent isle, 
Their wholesome, happy seat. The winds awhile 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 339 

Are courteous, and conduct them on their way 

To near the midst of the Atlantic sea; 

When suddenly their pleasant gales they change 

For dismal storms that on the ocean range, 

For faithless iEolus meditating harms, 

Breaks up the peace, and, priding much in arms, 

Unbars the great artillery of heaven, 

And, as the fatal signal by him given, 

The cloudy chariots threatening take the plains 

Drawn by winged steeds hard pressing on their reins, 

These vast battalions in dire aspect raised 

Start from the barrier's height with lightning blazed, 

Whilst clashing wheels resounding thunder cracks, 

Struck mortals deaf, and heaven astonished shakes. 

Here the ship captain, in the midnight watch, 

Stamps on the deck, and thunders up the hatch, 

And to the mariners aloud he cries — 

Now all from safe recumbency arise — 

All hands aloft, and stand well to your tack — 

Engendering storms have clothed the sky with black — 

Big tempests threaten to undo the world- — 

Down topsail, let the mainsail soon be furled — 

Haste to the foresail, there take up a reef. 

'Tis time, boys, now if ever to be brief — 

Aloof for life, let's try to stem the tide— 

The ship's much water, thus we may not ride — 

Stand roomer, then let's run before the sea, 

That so the ship may feel her steerage way — 

Steady at heim. Swiftly along she scuds 

Before the wind, and cuts the foaming suds. 

Sometimes aloft she lifts her prow so high, 

As if she'd run her bowsprit through the sky. 

Then from the summit ebbs and hurries down, 

As if her way were to the centre thrown. 



340 LANDING OF THE 

Meanwhile, our founders in the cabin sat, 

Reflecting on their true and sad estate, 

Whilst holy Warehcmi s sacred lips did treat 

About God's promises and mercies great. 

Still more gigantic births spring from the clouds 

Which tore the scattered canvass from the shrouds. 

And dreadful balls of lightning fill the air, 

Shot from the hand of the great Thunderer. 

And now a mighty sea the ship o'ertakes, 

Which, falling on the deck, the bulkhead breaks. 

The sailors cling to ropes, and frighted cry — 

The ship is foundered — we die, we die. 

Those in the cabin heard the sailors screech, 

All rise, and reverend Wareham do beseech 

That he would now lift up to heaven a cry 

For preservation in extremity. 

He, with a faith sure follovv'd on the word 

Of him that was of sea and winds the Lord, 

His eyes lifts up to heaven, his hands extend, 

And fervent prayer for deliverance sends. 

The winds abate, the threatening waves appease, 

And a sweet calm sits regent on the seas. 

They bless the name of their Deliverer, 

Who now they found a God that heareth prayer." 

You will excuse this long quotation, as it 
serves to give you a specimen of the poetry of 
former years, as well as to record a fact concern- 
ing the passage of the ship's company, whose 
arrival in this place, two hundred years ago, we 
this day celebrate. It is to be regretted that we 
have no particular account of the transactions of 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 341 

that memorable day ; although there can be no 
doubt of the manner in which it was observed. 
We know that it was the Sabbath, and w 7 e 
cannot doubt that it would be deeply interesting 
to our pious fathers, first to behold the American 
shore on that day, of all days the best. Doubtless 
their first employment was to worship the God 
who had so graciously preserved them during a 
long and dangerous passage. — On this very spot, 
or very near it, two hundred years ago, stood 
the venerable and holy men, Wareham and 
Maverick, and round them gathered their little 
flock, to listen to their fervent prayers and pious 
counsels. 

It is not my object, on the present occasion, to 
trace the history of our fathers from their first 
arrival in this place, two hundred years ago, to the 
present time, nor to remark on the settlement of 
the town of Dorchester, which took place a week 
or ten days after they landed. This will be done 
the next week, by a much respected native of the 
town, selected for the occasion.* We will there- 
fore only say — that ' when they arrived here, 
they were left in a forlorn wilderness, destitute 
of any habitation and most of the necessaries of 
life. Some of them, however, had the good 

* Rev. Dr. Pierce, of Brookline. 



342 LANDING OF THE 

fortune to procure a boat of an old planter, and 
went over to Charlestown, but met with poor 
accommodations there, and no encouragement to 
tarry ; for though they saw several wigwams, 
they found but one Englishman in a house, 
where they ate a boiled bass, but no bread. 
They returned therefore to the boat, and taking 
an Indian interpreter went up the river to where 
it grows narrow and shallow, and then, with 
much labor and difficulty, landed their goods, the 
bank being very steep. Their fears were greatly 
alarmed by being informed that three hundred 
Indians were encamped near them. They sent 
immediately their interpreter to persuade the 
natives not to molest them, and to assure them 
of their own pacific intentions. The next morn- 
ing, when the Indians appeared, they offered no 
violence, but sent some of their number, holding 
out a bass, and our people sent a man to meet 
them, with a biscuit, and so they exchanged not 
only then, but afterwards, a biscuit for a bass, and 
the Indians were very friendly to them, which 
our people ascribed to God's watchful providence 
over them in their weak beginnings. All the 
company had not come up the river, but only ten 
men to seek out the way for the rest. Those 
that tarried behind, were to take care of the 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 343 

cattle they had brought, and prevent them 
from wandering and being lost in the wilderness. 
Those who had gone in quest of a place to settle 
on, did not tarry away but a few days, during 
which time the rest of the company had found 
out a neck of land joining to a place by the 
Indians, called Matapan, that was a fit place to 
turn their cattle upon, with less danger of their 
straying ; and so they sent to their friends to 
return. Accordingly, they repaired to the place, 
and began a settlement about the beginning of 
June. They named the place Dorchester, be- 
cause several of the settlers came from a town 
of that name in England, and also in honor of 
the Rev. Mr. White, of Dorchester, to whose 
church some of the emigrants belonged.' — Such 
is an authentic history, derived in part from the 
historical collections of Massachusetts, of the 
arrival in this country, and in this very place, of 
those devoted men, who settled the town of 
Dorchester, to which we belong. 

A few of us have taken the opportunity this 
day to visit the spot where our pilgrim fathers 
first landed, just two hundred years ago.* We 
feel obliged to the inhabitants of this interest- 

* A paper giving an account of this visit, subscribed on the spot by 
ninety-nine individuals, was left with the town clerk of Hull. 



344 LAJNDING OF THE 

ing and sequestered town, for the privilege of 
meeting in this place, where they occasionally 
hold their religious services, for the purpose of 
offering our tribute of praise and thanksgiving to 
their God and ours, for the blessings we have 
mutually derived from the event which we this 
day celebrate. 

Our fathers, my hearers, were men of fajth 
and of prayer. They held those doctrines which 
are commonly called the doctrines of grace. 
Such as the entire depravity of human nature — 
the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit 
— the divinity and atonement of our Lord Jesus 
Christ — and the interminable state of the right- 
eous and wicked after death. These are the 
very doctrines which they believed two hun- 
dred years ago, and which, notwithstanding all 
the changes that have taken place in religious 
opinion, I am happy to say, are now believed and 
maintained by the church under my pastoral 
care. To us, then, who profess to believe as the 
Pilgrims believed, it is not surprising that the 
return of this centennial anniversary should be 
deeply interesting. Yes, we venerate the 
memory of those holy men who first unfurled 
the standard of the cross on this spot on the 30th 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 345 

of May, 1630, and we love the spot that then 
resounded with the praises of our God and 
Saviour ; and on that account we feel a tender 
interest in the spiritual welfare of those who 
now inhabit the place where Wareham and 
Maverick preached and prayed. We rejoice in 
the return of this most interesting anniversary, 
and shall number among the happiest and 
brightest events of our lives, that we were 
permitted, by religious exercises, to commemo- 
rate, the arrival of our pilgrim fathers at 
Nantasket, on the very day, that completes a 
second century. 

Descendants of the Pilgrims ! — I am happy in 
the opportunity of addressing you on this inter- 
esting occasion. By the reverence you bear the 
memory of your pious ancestors, let me entreat 
you to cherish their principles and imbibe their 
spirit. As I address myself principally to pro- 
fessors of religion, suffer me to urge upon you 
the maintenance of their religious principles. 
Beyond a doubt, those principles were what are 
now termed orthodox or evangelical. However 
some of their descendants may have departed 
from these principles, and embraced a more lax 
system of theology, we have the satisfaction of 
knowing that we have retained the faith of 
44 



346 LANDING OF THE 

our fathers, and that the church with which 
many of us are connected, openly and decidedly 
acknowledges the same system of religious 
belief which was professed by Wareham and 
Maverick, and their flock, that landed on this 
shore two hundred years ago. Surely, a system 
of faith which could prompt its professors to such 
great and painful sacrifices, must have possessed 
no ordinary power. We are not ashamed to 
believe w 7 ith the fathers of New England. We 
will cherish their principles and hand them down 
to our latest posterity. 

My beloved friends, how solemn and impres- 
sive is this occasion ! Before another century 
arrives, not one of us will be here to celebrate 
the deeds of our fathers, nor to witness the 
maturity of our rising country. We shall all 
sleep in the dust, and our spirits will have 
mingled with the spirits of our ancestors. Our 
children, or children's children, may come to this 
venerated spot, and while they look back with 
admiring gratitude on the early history of our 
country, it will be no inconsiderable satisfaction 
to trace the names of their more immediate pro- 
genitors who visited this place on this memorable 
day. Let us be careful to transmit to our chil- 
dren the principles we received from our fathers, 



DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 347 

which we have heard and known, and our fathers 
have told us. We will not hide them from our 
children, showing to the generation to come the 
praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his 
wonderful works that he hath done. 



HYMN, 



SUNG ON THE OCCASION. 

Tune— St. Martin's. 

In days of yore, a pilgrim band 

Came o'er the great, wide sea, 
Far from their homes and native land, 

To enjoy their liberty. 

'Twas on that bright and holy day — 

The sacred day of God — 
That here our fathers found their way, 

And on this isthmus trod. 

Two hundred years this day have fled, 

Since first they landed here ; 
Though long been numbered with the dead, 

Their spirits hover near. 

Two hundred years, — those holy men 

Stood where we stand to-day, 
And on this spot, uncultured then, 

Began to praise and pray. 



348 

Here Wareham led his little flock 

Their grateful thanks to pay, 
And on the great eternal Rock 

Their future hopes to stay. 

And Maverick, here, with holy zeal, 

Their fainting souls sustained, 
And taught them, while their cares they feel, 

The Almighty Saviour reigned. 

And, here, the church, with holy love, 

Around their pastors thronged, 
While notes of praise, like those above, 

The sacred time prolonged. 

Thus on this wild and rocky shore, 

Begirt with the blue wave, 
The Pilgrims did their God adore. 

And felt his power to save. 

God of our fathers ! from thy throne, 

In heavenly mercy shine, 
Oh may we trust in thee alone, 

And be forever thine. 



349 



ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE DORCHESTER TEMPERANCE 

SOCIETY. 



The change in public opinion within the last 
few years on the subject of Temperance, is truly 
astonishing. The pious mind, in contemplating 
the wonderful effects that have been produced 
by this change, cannot but exclaim with holy 
admiration, What hath God wrought! For, 
although the agency of human effort has been 
employed to produce it, the design, the means, 
the success, are all of God, and to his great name 
shall be all the praise. 

No nation has been more highly distinguished 
for rich and varied blessings, for civil and reli- 
gious immunities, for personal and social enjoy- 
ments, than the American people. Our free 



350 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

institutions have raised us to an eminence among 
the nations of the earth, that has excited the 
admiration and the envy of the world. The 
western continent had become the refuge of the 
oppressed from the tyrannical governments of 
Europe. The poor and the distressed, whose 
prospects in the old world were entirely hopeless, 
here found a country and a home. 

The unparalleled prosperity of our country had 
become, not only the envy of the world, but was 
regarded with malicious eye by the enemy of 
our race. In an evil hour he entered this Eden 
of nations, and with the cunning of the serpent, 
enticed numbers of our free and happy population, 
not indeed to eat of the forbidden fruit, but to 
drink of the fatal cup. — Yes, my friends, the 
demon of intemperance had well nigh destroyed 
this happy land. 

It is a well known fact, that the use of ardent 
spirits, which had been allowed to the army by 
whose gallant prowess our glorious revolution 
was achieved — a use which nothing could have 
justified but the darkness of the public mind on 
this subject — had created a habit which followed 
many of the revolutionary soldiers into their 
retirements, and spread its baneful influence in 
their families and in their neighborhoods. To 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 351 

such an extent had this moral poison spread 
throughout our otherwise favored land, that " at 
the close of the first half century of our national 
existence," as stated in the last Report of the 
American Temperance Society, " the diseased 
appetite of our countrymen demanded annually 
for its gratification more than sixty million gallons 
of ardent spirits, and that, while the article cost 
the consumers at least thirty million of dollars, it 
caused more than three quarters of the pauper- 
ism, crime, and wretchedness of the community — 
blunted the moral sensibilities of all who freely 
used it — increased the number and violence of 
diseases — deprived multitudes of their reason — 
swept more than thirty thousand annually into 
the drunkard's grave— and was threatening to 
roll its curses in broader and deeper streams over 
all future generations." 

Such was the awful consequence of drinking 
of the fatal cup. Such were the ravages which 
the diabolical monster Intemperance had made 
over this fair land. But, blessed be God, a 
remedy was in store to bruise the head of this 
poisonous serpent, and it was reserved for our 
times and for our country to discover and 
apply it. 

The awful effects of this growing evil had 



352 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

been long felt and deeply lamented by the wise 
and good ; and by none more so, than by the 
friends of virtue and correct habits in this 
vicinity. The first systematic effort for the sup- 
pression of intemperance, was made by the 
Massachusetts Society. Their exertions were 
important ; and to them belongs the praise of 
being the first regularly organized society, for 
attempting to arrest this enormous evil. But 
they had not discovered the simple but powerful 
antidote to this fatal poison. It was reserved 
for a still later period, and for another association, 
to make this important discovery. 

The bright thought then dawned upon the mind 
of some gifted individual, or individuals, that the 
only way to check the progress of intemperance, 
was for temperate men to abstain entirely from the 
use of ardent spirits, and to combine their influ- 
ence by solemn pledges. The thought, I doubt 
not, was the inspiration of heaven ; and the 
names of those who first entertained it, whether 
known to us or not, are inscribed on the page of 
immortality. Benefactors of mankind ! you will 
be associated, by a grateful posterity, with 
Howard, and Wilberforce, and Raikes. Your 
names will stand at the head of a new era of the 
world, and millions who would have gone down 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 353 

to the drunkard's grave, will bless your memory. 
When this thought was first conceived, which is 
to bruise the head of the odious serpent intem- 
perance, it was regarded by many as Utopian. 
It was looked upon as the visionary dream, of 
good intention indeed, but as utterly unequal 
to the correction of the evil it aimed to destroy. 
Many doubted, and at first held themselves 
aloof from the pledge. Heaven smiled upon the 
effort. The most sanguine expectations of its 
friends were more than answered, and results, as 
delightful as they were extraordinary, astonished 
the world- More than a million of persons in 
the United States, we are officially told, have 
ceased to use ardent spirits — more than a thou- 
sand distilleries have been stopped — more than 
three thousand merchants have ceased to traffic 
in the article — and more than three thousand 
drunkards ceased to use intoxicating drinks — 
more than ten thousand persons, as appears from 
numerous facts, have been saved from becoming 
drunkards, who, had it not been for the change of 
sentiment and practice in the community, had 
before now been involved in all the horrors of 
that loathsome and fatal vice. The quantity of 
ardent spirit used in the country has been greatly 
diminished, and pauperism, crime, sickness, 

45 



354 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

insanity and premature deaths, have been di- 
minished in proportion. Such have been the 
results which have been already produced by the 
adoption of that simple, but powerful principle — 
entire abstinence from the use of ardent spirit. 
But greater results than these, we doubt not, 
are yet to follow. Should this principle be 
generally adopted throughout our country, it 
would save annually, more than one hundred 
million of dollars, and more than thirty thousand 
valuable lives. 

The honor and praise of this moral antidote to 
the poison of the fell destroyer, belongs to our 
own country and to our own section of it. 
" This is a subject," said a member of the 
United States' senate, at the late temperance 
meeting in Washington, " upon which I appeal 
not only to the patriotism, but to the national 
pride of the American people. It is the invention 
of our country. It is not imported from a foreign 
land. It had its origin with us. What citizen 
of the United States, while he acknowledges our 
indebtedness to the parent state for much of our 
science, literature and institutions, does not feel 
his pride of country rise and expand when he 
reflects that we are paying back, in the means of 
moral improvement; that we are making payment 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 355 

in a coin, brighter, richer and better refined, than 
that in which the debt was originally contracted. 
We know the prejudices which exist in Great 
Britain against every thing American. They are 
slow to believe that American mind can produce 
any thing superior to their own inventions and 
improvements, — but no sooner was this remedy 
for intemperance presented, than it was imme- 
diately and cheerfully adopted and practised." 

The temperance reformation has crossed the 
Atlantic and obtained a firm footing in the land 
of our fathers 5 sepulchres. Flourishing societies 
exist in Ireland and Scotland ; and recently has 
been formed, under the most favorable auspices, 
a British and Foreign temperance society, a so- 
ciety w 7 hich promises much by its powerful influ- 
ence to extend the principles of this sacred and 
benevolent cause throughout the world. But the 
most gratifying intelligence has recently been 
received, that the temperance reformation has 
not only crossed the Atlantic, but found its 
way, and effected a permanent lodgment in those 
distant isles of the Pacific, whose untutored 
inhabitants have long been cruelly debased by 
their intercourse with Europeans. This inter- 
esting class of our fellow beings, who have long 
suffered by the odious vices of intemperance and 



356 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

debauchery, have been visited by the benign in- 
fluence of Christianity, — their idols have been 
given to the moles and to the bats, and on their 
ruins have been erected altars for the worship of 
the only true God. 

From the Sandwich islands we have recent 
accounts of the formation of a general temper- 
ance society. A society was formed by the 
chiefs and the people, and about a thousand 
subscribers immediately obtained. The four 
governors of the islands are the general super- 
intendents of the society. The constitution is 
simple, and the principles of the society are as 
follows. We will not drink ardent spirits for 
pleasure. We will not deal in ardent spirits 
for the sake of gain. We will not engage in 
distilling ardent spirits. We will not treat our 
relatives, acquaintances, or strangers with ardent 
spirits. We will not give ardent spirits to work- 
men, on account of their labor. — The young 
king of those islands, has ordered a cask of 
spirits, on board one of his brigs, to be poured 
into the sea. 

The British consul, it is said, applied to the 
governor of Oahu for permission to buy up rum 
for his Britannic majesty's ships of war, and has 
been denied. Other individuals applied to the 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 357 

governor for the privilege of selling ardent 
spirits to foreigners. — The governor's reply was, 
" To horses, cattle, and hogs, you may sell 
rum ; but to real men you must not, on these 
shores." 

In order to estimate correctly the work that 
has been accomplished in favor of temperance, 
and how great a change has been wrought in the 
character and example of the chiefs in this 
respect — it should be remembered that ten years 
ago the inhabitants of the Sandwich islands were 
a nation of drunkards. The king and principal 
chiefs, instead of restraining the people by laws 
or by examples, were themselves habitually 
addicted to the grossest intemperance. It was 
no uncommon thing to see whole villages, the 
chief men and common people, male and female, 
in a state of beastly intoxication — and now, the 
traffic is denounced as immoral, and prohibited 
under severe penalties by government. 

What a blessed change has been produced by 
the gospel of Christ and the temperance reforma- 
tion — and this reformation, we doubt not, is 
destined to extend to every part of our globe 
where the destroying serpent has instilled his 
fatal poison. Measures have been taken to form 
temperance societies in Sweden and Germany, 



358 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

on the continent of Europe, and on the shores of 
Africa ; "and there is reason" to use the language 
of the last report of the American Temperance 
Society, "to expect that their influence will soon 
be felt in every country on the globe — that 
wherever the gospel goes and exerts its legiti- 
mate influence over the mind of man, abstinence 
from all that intoxicates and that wars against 
the soul will be its sure and invariable attendant. 
The Hottentot and the Hindoo, the Greenlander 
and Tahitian will unite with the inhabitants of 
the Emerald isle, the Caledonian, European, 
Asiatic, African, and American of every name, in 
ceasing to do evil. Then, under the means of 
God's appointment, will they learn to do well. 
The word of the Lord, unobstructed, will run 
very swiftly, and pouring, with double energy, its 
mighty all-pervading influence upon the whole 
mass of minds, will be like the rain and the 
snow that come down from heaven and water 
the earth, and cause it to bring forth and bud. 
The frost and the snows of six thousand winters 
will be forever dissolved, and the spring time 
of millennial beauty, and the autumnal fruit of 
millennial glory, open upon the world." 

While the unparalleled success of the tem- 
perance cause is occasion of joy and gratitude 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 359 

to its friends, it imposes upon them increased 
obligations to persevering effort. Without per- 
severance, all will be lost that has been already- 
gained, and a fearful re-action will be produced 
on the public mind. Although much has been 
done, yet much, very much more remains to be 
done — nor should the friends of this cause of 
humanity relax their efforts, until that fatal 
poison which destroys both soul and body, shall 
be found only on the shelf of the apothecary, 
labelled by the side of arsenic. 

We have taken a bright view of the subject, by 
dwelling on the success with which it has pleased 
Him, from whom all good counsels and benevolent 
designs proceed, to crown the efforts of the friends 
of temperance. But we have said nothing of the 
extent of the evil that yet remains to be cor- 
rected, nor of the means to be immediately and 
perseveringly used for this purpose. We learn 
from the last Report of the American Temperance 
Society, that " in the four cities of Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, containing 
about five hundred thousand inhabitants, more 
than six thousand persons are licensed to sell 
ardent spirit, and thus become accessary to the 
ruin of their fellow men. If they have daily ten 
customers each, and they each spend for this 



360 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

poison only ten cents, it would be more than six 
thousand dollars a day, or more than two millions 
a year. Upwards of six thousand men, more 
than one in twenty of all the men over twenty- 
one years of age, are, for a little money, licensed 
to carry on a trade which is proved by a vast 
accumulation of facts to be among the greatest 
curses which have come upon the human family ; 
which has caused a loss to the people of the 
United States of more than ninety million dollars 
a year ; and brought down more than seventy 
thousand persons to an untimely grave. And 
this is continued, after it is proved by the experi- 
ence of more than a million of persons, that men, 
in all kinds of business, are better without the 
use of it ; and those who profess to be good men 
are furnishing it to all who will purchase, and 
thus assist to perpetuate this mighty ruin down 
to the end of the world." 

We might dwell on the extent of the evil that 
yet remains to be arrested, and hold up to your 
view in most appalling colors, the miseries that 
are hourly brought upon our race by the odious 
vice of intemperance. This we have been in the 
habit of doing, more or less, from year to year, on 
the return of this anniversary. This is now the 
less necessary, as these evils have been vividly 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 361 

depicted in numerous addresses and appeals from 
the press. It is more important that we should 
consider the means to be used for the prevention 
of this dreadful evil. 

The antidote to this fatal poison has, as we 
have seen, been discovered. It remains only that 
it be applied. Let every friend to. his country, 
to his species, to virtue and religion, come for- 
ward, and give his name and his influence to this 
humane and benevolent cause. It is by the 
combination of the friends of temperance, by 
their united and visible example, embodied, and 
exhibited in the formation of temperance societies, 
more than by any other means, that this great 
object is to be accomplished. I know there are 
not a few, and among them some whom I sin- 
cerely respect and esteem, who object to this 
public method of promoting the cause of temper- 
ance. They think they can do more good by 
their private example, and feel a reluctance to the 
publicity and ostentation which they imagine is 
consequent upon forming a temperance society. 

But, have these respected individuals duly 
considered the force of their example ? Many of 
us. if we consulted only our feelings, would also 
shrink from this public act ; but it is not a ques- 
tion of feeling — it is a question of duty. It has 
46 



362 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

been established, beyond a doubt, that these 
united efforts have done extensive good ; that 
they have been happily instrumental in checking 
one of the greatest evils that have ever visited 
our world ; and this being the undeniable fact, 
no one is at liberty, with a good conscience, to 
withhold his support from this cause, by neglect- 
ing to enrol his name with those who pledge 
themselves entirely to abstain from the use of 
ardent spirits. We believe there are many who 
have felt this reluctance, who have overcome it 
from a strong sense of duty ; and we doubt not, 
that there are those, now present, who upon 
reflection, will feel it to be their duty no longer 
to stand aloof from this benevolent enterprise, 
but will give the weight of their names and 
influence to this truly interesting cause. 

If any of the respected class of men to which 
I have alluded, still doubt as to the course of 
their duty in connecting themselves with a tem- 
perance society, their doubts must be forever 
removed, by a perusal of the eloquent addresses 
of the first men of our nation, which, I am happy 
to learn, are in extensive circulation among us. 
When such men as Frelinghuysen and our own 
Webster from the senate chamber of the United 
States, come forth boldly as advocates of the 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 363 

cause of temperance, who will not listen to their 
arguments, and consider well before they persist 
in a course which they disapprove ! " The 
power of example," says the former of these 
national orators, " spreads from heart to heart, 
from neighborhood to neighborhood, from county 
to county, from continent to continent. The 
great object of the pledge, proposed by the 
temperance society, was to correct public senti- 
ment — to raise the standard of moral principle. 
And what mode did its advocates adopt to ac- 
complish this desirable but difficult object? They 
determined to gather, one by one, individual 
suffrages in its favor. The power of example 
in a good cause, has accomplished all the wonders 
we have seen. This cause has at length reached 
this place, (the city of Washington,) not for 
legislation — legislation has long since exhausted 
all its power ; and all the sanctions of law, when 
opposed to the course of this desolating evil, 
were, but as the chaff before the mountain 
storm. But here is a new principle, which, in 
its potency, is worth whole volumes of legislation, 
— that mighty principle — personal example. And 
what might not such a principle effect, if com- 
municated to the constituents of all the members 
of the twenty-second congress. What could it 



364 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

not effect, were all those members resolved to 
concentrate their combined example in this great 
cause. Should the members, one and all, both 
of the senate and house of representatives, 
send to their constituents such a blessed exam- 
ple, with what power would it not go down to 
the thirteen millions which they represent. It 
is not too much to say that such an example 
would do more for the welfare of this country, 
than whole years of legislation. 5 ' — With such 
advocates, the cause of temperance has nothing 
to fear. 

But this cause has its enemies as well as its 
advocates, — and so has every good cause that 
seeks to promote the best interests of man. But 
the time will come, when the enemies of the 
temperance cause will be ashamed and hide their 
heads. We have not time nor inclination to 
notice the usual trite objections that are made to 
the temperance cause. 

The cry of sectarianism has been raised against 
it, because some of its earliest and fastest friends 
happened to belong to that sect, which in this 
vicinity is every where spoken against ; but 
they are not the only promoters of the tem- 
perance reform. It has enlisted Christians of 
every denomination — Episcopalians, Presby te- 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 365 

rians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, 
and last, though not least in their steady attach- 
ment to this cause, the Quakers, a sect who, 
from the days of Fox, and William Penn, have 
been the uniform advocates of temperance. The 
fact is, there never was a more unfounded charge 
than that of sectarianism. 

It has been said by some who are unfriendly to 
all benevolent institutions, that the temperance 
society is only another method to impose upon 
the public for the extortion of money. This 
objection would be unworthy of notice, were it 
not made by those from w 7 hom we ought to 
expect better things. In answer to this, and 
similar objections, it will be sufficient to state- 
that the support of religion, and all the benevo- 
lent institutions connected with it in the United 
States, is computed not to exceed six million 
seven hundred thousand dollars, while intemper- 
ance, with all facilities for vain and sinful amuse- 
ments, costs our country not less than one hundred 
and sixteen millions. It is difficult to conceive of 
any money expended to so much advantage, as 
the trifling sum that has been necessary to prose- 
cute the objects of the temperance society. 

But I forbear — every candid mind, I doubt not, 
will be convinced of the excellence of the cause 



366 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

for which I plead ; — and with those, who are 
determined not to be convinced, it is in vain 
to argue. 

Suffer me now, in conclusion, to call upon 
my respected auditory to unite cordially in the 
support of the cause of temperance. 

Need I address myself to those who bear the 
Christian name, to remind them of their duty! 
With all the light that is now thrown upon this 
subject, is it possible that a Christian can hesitate 
as to the course he ought to pursue ? Many of 
our churches have become temperance societies — 
and ought not every church to be in fact a tem- 
perance society ? There is a gross inconsistency 
for a member of the church to be a manufacturer, 
vender, or consumer of that fatal poison, which 
destroys the body and soul. The only safe course 
is, Touch not, taste not, handle not. Nor is this 
duty confined to Christian professors — it is in- 
cumbent upon all. Every friend of virtue and of 
man is solemnly bound to enlist in this cause. 

Young men, to you we look with the deepest 
solicitude, and with the most sanguine expecta- 
tions. You are the hope of our country. Every- 
thing depends in this great enterprise upon the 
course adopted by our young men. If they come 
up boldly and cheerfully to the standard of tern- 



ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 367 

perance, the generation that is rising will be 
saved; but if they hold back, who can tell the 
extent of the evil that will ensue ? 

To the mothers and daughters of our highly 
favored land we also look for efficient aid in this 
work of mercy. Who can estimate the extent 
of female influence ? More than one hundred 
thousand of the lovely daughters of the last gen- 
eration were doomed to the tremendous curse of 
having drunken husbands, and rearing their little 
ones under the blasting, withering influence of 
drunken fathers. There are instances, too, in 
that sex, with which we delight to associate all 
that is lovely, of victims to the fell destroyer. 
And what sight on earth is so revolting, so dis- 
gusting, so humiliating, as that of a drunken 
female ! Who that thinks seriously of the fact 
that this humiliating sight might have been 
prevented by a connection with a temperance 
society, can doubt of the expediency of females 
joining such a society. I frankly confess that I 
had doubts of the propriety of such a measure, 
but when I reflected that it might operate as a 
restraint in the hour of temptation, I yielded 
my objections, and have been convinced of the 
expediency of the course recommended by the 
American temperance society. 



368 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 

My respected hearers, I feel that I owe you an 
apology for having detained you so long on a day 
when you have had repeated religious services 
in your respective places of worship. 

The members of the Dorchester temperance 
society will accept my best wishes for success 
in their laudable undertaking. They will not be 
discouraged by difficulties. The time we trust 
will come, when the inhabitants of this ancient 
town will feel a deeper interest in the cause of 
temperance. In the mean time let us hope that 
the Fathers of the town, to whose discretion the 
legislature has intrusted so much power, in grant- 
ing licenses for the vending of this fatal poison, 
will fearlessly and conscientiously perform their 
duty, that the sources of temptation may be 
greatly lessened, if not wholly removed, and 
that this whole town may become a mountain 
of holiness and a dwelling place of righteous- 
ness. 



369 



SPEECH, 



IN THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS OF HARVARD 
COLLEGE, FEB. 3, 1831. 



[At an adjourned meeting of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, 
held in the senate chamber in Boston, Feb. 3, 1831, f k the Committee, 
consisting of Dr. Spooner, Rev. Dr. Codman, and Rev. Mr. Wal- 
ker, to whom were committed the Statutes establishing a Theological 
Faculty in the University, reported, that a majority of the Committee 
were in favor of recommending a concurrence with the proceedings 
of the Corporation. Whereupon Dr. Codman rose, and moved that 
the subject be recommitted and postponed to the next stated meeting 
of the Board. — The motion being seconded, Dr. Codman thus ad- 
dressed the Board.] 

May it please your Excellency, 

It is with great reluctance that I rise to offer 
a few remarks on the Report of the Committee 
now before this honorable and reverend Board, 
and in favor of its recommittance for further 
consideration. 

With my highly respected colleagues on that 
committee I had the unhappiness to differ in 
opinion. They were in favor, as appears by 
their report, of recommending to this Board a 

47 



370 SPEECH IN THE 



concurrence with the proceedings of the corpora- 
tion in the establishment of a theological faculty 
in this University. Although on many subjects 
that have come before this Board, as in the 
establishment of a professor of German litera- 
ture, I have cheerfully given my voice in favor 
of concurrence with that truly enlightened and 
dignified body, and although I have great con- 
fidence in their wisdom, and ability, and sound 
judgment, yet on this occasion I was constrained, 
I trust from honest and conscientious motives, 
to differ from them as to the expediency of 
establishing a theological department in the 
University ; and I feel it my duty to state to 
this Board the reasons of my dissent from the 
report of the committee. 

In the remarks which I beg leave to offer on 
this subject I shall confine myself to the question 
of expediency. Whether, in the existing state of 
public opinion on religious subjects in this Com- 
monwealth, it is expedient for this University to 
descend from that high and elevated station 
which it ought to hold as the University of the 
State, and, by the establishment of a theological 
department, lend its mighty influence to the 
support of any one sect of professing Christians. 
With regard to the denomination of which the 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 371 

proposed theological faculty is well known to 
consist, I am far from wishing to make any 
invidious or unkind remarks. Many of my 
intimate friends and relatives belong to that 
denomination. The doctrinal views of the three 
professors are well known to be Unitarian. 
Should this be disputed, which I presume will 
not be, I have only to appeal to their publica- 
tions. The senior professor, for whose private 
character I have reason to entertain the highest 
esteem, is one of the champions of the Unitarian 
faith — the avowed correspondent of Rammohun 
Roy, the Unitarian convert and missionary in 
India. His son, the amiable and accomplished 
professor of pulpit eloquence and the pastoral 
care, we were told in the public prints, was the 
accredited representative of the American Uni- 
tarian Association at a public meeting of the 
Unitarian denomination in England ; — and the 
learned and talented professor elect of biblical 
literature, I presume no one will deny, belongs 
to the same class of professing Christians. 
Although I do not harmonize with these gen- 
tlemen in religious opinion, I entertain towards 
them, individually, sentiments of respectful con- 
sideration and personal regard. They have the 
same right to their peculiarities that I have to 



372 SPEECH IN THE 

mine, and I should be the last person in the 
world to wish to deprive them of that right, or 
to lessen their facilities of propagating what 
they honestly believe to be the doctrines of 
Christianity. 

I have always been the advocate of religious 
freedom in its widest extent. I wish every 
man to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God 
according to the dictates of his own conscience. 
I rejoice that we live in this land of freedom, 
where no religious denomination is established 
by law. There is nothing that I deprecate 
more than any exclusive advantages granted 
by the State to any religious sect. 

It is well known that in this Commonwealth 
there is a great diversity of opinion on reli- 
gious subjects. To mention no others, there 
are Orthodox and Unitarian Congregationalists, 
Baptists, Episcopalians and Methodists, all highly 
respectable in numbers and influence — and all 
directly or indirectly interested in this Uni- 
versity. 

To this ancient and venerable seat of learning, 
patronized by themselves through their repre- 
sentatives in the legislature, it is natural that 
they should wish to send their sons to receive 
the advantages of a liberal education. And, sir, 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 373 

could they be assured that the University was 
only a literary institution, and had no necessary 
connection with any religious sect, they would 
cheerfully avail themselves of the privilege of 
placing their children under its fostering care, 
and not be under the necessity, as they repeat- 
edly have been, and now are, of sending them 
elsewhere. 

It may be said that every college must have 
its distinctive religious character, — and that, as 
the government of Harvard University, and 
many of its friends and patrons, are of the 
Unitarian denomination, it is right and proper 
that they should have a theological department 
of that character. I would allow the force of 
this argument, if Harvard College had been 
founded by Unitarians, and if it were not so 
intimately and so inseparably connected with the 
State. But, sir, it is well known that Harvard 
College was not founded by Unitarians, but by 
Orthodox Congregationalists. The professorship 
of divinity w r as not founded by Unitarians, but 
by a Calvinistic Baptist, of precious memory, 
who, in the very statutes which you are advised 
in the report on your table, to adopt, expressly 
requires that his professor should be " of sound 
and Orthodox principles" On this subject I 



374 SPEECH IN THE 

will not enlarge. It is attended with too many 
painful associations. 

But, sir, I would remark on the peculiar 
relation which this University bears to this Com- 
monwealth. It is the child of the State. The 
State has always been its nursing mother. It 
has contributed largely to its funds. It has ever 
taken a deep and lively interest in its prosperity. 
The executive and higher branches of its legisla- 
ture have, from the beginning, been its consti- 
tuted guardians. 

Sustaining such a relation to the Common- 
wealth, ought it to assume a controversial aspect 
on the subject of religion? Ought it to be de- 
voted to the interests of any religious sect or 
denomination, however excellent that sect and 
denomination may be ? In the present state of 
religious opinion, I have no wish that this semi- 
nary of the State should be devoted to the propa- 
gation of the sentiments of the pious Hollis, and 
of our pilgrim fathers. I venerate these senti- 
ments, and I honestly believe them to be the 
truth of God ; but I know that many, equally 
honest and sincere, differ from me on this subject. 
Let me have a theological school to which I may 
send my children with a good conscience, after 
they have received their classical education at 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 375 

the University ; and let those who differ from 
me, also have a theological school ; but let that 
school be distinct from the University, and let 
us all have one common alma mater, who shall 
acknowledge us as her children, without any 
regard to the religious denomination to which 
we belong. 

It may be said, that a University is not com- 
plete without a theological department. Divinity 
is one of the three learned professions, and ought 
to be as distinctly and thoroughly taught as law 
and medicine. In answer to this, I would re- 
mark, that, if a system of divinity could be agreed 
upon, in which all the religious denominations in 
the Commonwealth could unite, the argument 
might have weight. But this, I am sure, all 
would agree, would be a Utopian scheme. No, 
sir, in the present state of religious opinion, it is 
impossible for any theological faculty, however 
excellent, to give universal satisfaction to the 
people of this Commonwealth. There is but 
one way in which the views and feelings of the 
whole people can be met, and that is, by not 
having any theological school connected with the 
University. 

I have no objection that the Unitarians should 
have a theological school — but let it not be con- 



376 SPEECH IN THE 

nected with Harvard College. The Orthodox 
Congregationalists have one at Andover; the 
Baptists have one at Newton ; and the Meth- 
odists, I believe, have one at Wilbraham ;— and 
let the Unitarians have theirs in any of the 
pleasant towns or villages of Massachusetts. 
And let the young men of the Commonwealth, 
destined for the sacred office, after they shall 
have completed their classical education at Cam- 
bridge, which no college in the Union can better 
supply, let them, then, make their selection of a 
theological school. Let one go to Andover, and 
another to Newton, and another to Wilbraham, 
and another to such place as the Unitarians may 
think proper to designate for the location of their 
school. 

But, sir, it may be said, that the theological 
school is already established at Cambridge, that 
professors have already been appointed, and stu- 
dents are under a course of theological instruc- 
tion. — I know it, may it please your Excellency, 
and I deeply regret it. In the year 1815, I 
believe, certain funds were raised by subscription 
for the promotion of theological education in the 
University, and received and held by the corpora- 
tion — and in 1819, (not during the session of the 
legislature, but in the month of July,) a constitu- 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 377 

tion was adopted for the theological department, 
and approved at a regular meeting of the Board 
of Overseers. This constitution recognizes the 
existence of the society for promoting theological 
education at Cambridge — which was represented 
by a certain number of trustees. 

It may be asked, Why were not the same 
objections made to the adoption of this consti- 
tution, as are now made to the adoption of the 
statutes under consideration ? Sir, I can only 
answer for myself. I had not then the honor of 
being on the committee to whom that constitu- 
tion was referred. Had I been, I should have 
felt it my imperious duty to have attended par- 
ticularly to the subject, and to have protested 
against it. It is true I was then a member of 
this honorable and reverend Board, and I ought, 
perhaps, to have been more watchful than I have 
been, against what I conceive to be an encroach- 
ment on the religious liberties of the Common- 
wealth. But not being called to the special 
service of a committee, I must confess, the con- 
stitution of the theological department, which 
passed this Board in 1819, escaped my notice. 

But, sir, if we have misjudged in times past 
in connecting a theological department in any 
shape with this University, shall we persist in 
48 



378 SPEECH IN THE 

our error ? Is it too late to retrace our steps ? 
Is it not better to acknowledge that we have 
erred, than to forfeit the confidence of many 
religious denominations in the State ? 

But, sir, there is one important difference be- 
tween the constitution of 1819, and the proposed 
theological statutes. The responsibility of the 
theological department was, according to that 
instrument, shared, at least, by a theological 
society independent of the University. By the 
proposed statutes it is wholly assumed by the 
University. The theological department is made, 
to all intents and purposes, a constituent part of 
the University, and whatever may be the char- 
acter of its theology, it must now be viewed, in 
the eyes of the world, as the theology of the 
University of this Commonwealth. 

Sir, it has been said, that the course recom- 
mended by your committee, is the least of two 
evils. Several truly liberal and high minded 
members of this Board, have, without hesitancy, 
expressed their regret, that a theological school 
should, in any shape, have been located at Cam- 
bridge. And this opinion, I have no doubt, is 
held by many other judicious thinking men of 
liberal sentiments, who love this University, and 
fear the consequences that may result to its pros- 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 379 

perity, from the measure under consideration. — 
But what can now be done ? The theological 
school has been established at Cambridge. It 
has collected funds from those who were friendly 
to the object, to the amount, I am told, of about 
fifty thousand dollars ; with part of which they 
have erected a building for the accommodation 
of the school. It has already a partial connec- 
tion with the University, the whole funds and 
the appointment of the professors, being under 
the direction and control of the corporation. 

Legal opinions, it is understood, have decided 
that the theological school cannot now be com- 
pletely severed from the University, without 
incurring a forfeiture of these funds. Under 
existing circumstances, what can be done ? Sir, 
it is not my province to extricate gentlemen from 
a difficulty into which they have thrown them- 
selves. But I am willing, as far as possible, to 
endeavor to assist them. I would say, then, let 
the forfeiture take place. — What is money to 
principle ? What is fifty thousand dollars, con- 
tributed, chiefly, by one religious sect, to the 
general prosperity of the University, which is 
the common property of all denominations in the 
Commonwealth ? And let Unitarians raise new 
funds and establish a theological school in this 



380 SPEECH IN THE 

city, or in Salem, or in any other town in the 
State, But, if gentlemen are not willing to 
make such a sacrifice, if they still wish to retain 
their money and their buildings — let them do 
it — and let them be under the direction and con- 
trol of a Unitarian theological society ; but let 
the president of Harvard College and the boards 
of corporation and overseers stand aloof from the 
connection. 

But it has been said that the proposed plan 
of a theological department in the University 
was specially designed to effect a separation 
between the college and the theological school, 
and it was thought that such an arrangement 
would better meet the wishes of the Orthodox 
part of the community, than the existing con- 
nection between them. But what, may it please 
your Excellency, is the difference between the 
University and the College ? The difference of 
a whole and its parts. Are the funds, given by 
the Commonwealth, given exclusively to the 
academic part of the institution ? Is the college 
or academic part of the institution, only, under 
the care of the corporation and board of over- 
seers ? If so, what occasion have we for acting 
on the subject now before us ? No, sir, the 
University is a whole — and, by the adoption of 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 381 

the statutes now under consideration, it is pro- 
posed to make the theological department, as 
such, a constituent part of the University. 

What pledge have we that no part of the 
funds, munificently given, or which may here- 
after be given to the University by the Com- 
monwealth, shall never be appropriated to the 
theological department? True, the majority of 
the committee, in their report, have expressed 
their opinion, that this will not be the case — but 
it is only their opinion. Is there any such 
pledge contained in the statutes now before us ? 
Is it expressly stated in these statutes, that 
the theological department shall in future look 
only to the Unitarian denomination for support ? 
No, sir — the Unitarian theological society, which 
has hitherto directed, in connection with the 
corporation, the concerns of the school, are, by 
the proposed arrangement, to give up their 
powers to the theological faculty. They are 
about to transfer their individual responsibili- 
ties to the University of the State, and to 
place the infant, which they have brought into 
existence, and carefully nourished, under the 
special care of the University of the Common- 
wealth. 

And, sir, is the University of the Common- 



382 SPEECH IN THE 

wealth prepared to take this child off their 
hands, and to adopt it as their own ? Is it 
prepared to give the whole weight of the in- 
fluence of the University, to the support of 
any particular religious denomination ? Is it 
prepared to violate the constitution of the State, 
which expressly provides that no subordination 
of any one sect or denomination of Christians 
to another shall be established by law. 

Suffer me to ask, who are to constitute 
the theological faculty in the University ? I 
would refer to the second article in the statutes. 
The president of the University, and the three 
professors above mentioned, with such other 
professors or officers as the corporation may 
from time to time designate, shall constitute the 
theological faculty in the University. The presi- 
dent of the University — and who is the president 
of the University ? The president of Harvard 
College. 

By these statutes he is to be officially and 
publicly constituted the head — I will not say of 
the church — the defender of the faith — but I 
must say, the head of a Unitarian theological 
school. Sir, no man in the community has a 
higher respect for the gentleman who now sus- 
tains that elevated and dignified station, than 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 383 

myself. I admire the energy of his character, 
and his spirit of enterprise. I had hoped much 
for the prosperity of the University from his 
elevation to the presidential chair. I have no 
hesitation in saying, that of all the candidates for 
that responsible trust that I had heard named, I 
gave him the decided preference ; and if I was 
not active in promoting his election, I certainly 
did nothing to impede it. One reason of my 
preference was, that he was a layman. I 
thought, sir, that in the existing state of public 
opinion on religious subjects in this Common- 
wealth, it was highly desirable that that impor- 
tant office should be filled by a layman, and not 
by a clergyman of any sect. Although I well 
knew that the religious opinions of the candidate 
for the presidency differed from my own, I had 
confidence in the enlargement and liberality of 
his mind — in his high sense of moral and reli- 
gious obligation — and in the impartial course he 
would pursue towards other denominations of 
Christians. This confidence was strengthened 
by one of the first acts of his administration — the 
permission for the undergraduates to attend such 
places of worship as they might conscientiously 
prefer ; a liberty, which had never been granted 



384 SPEECH IN THE 

before, except to members of the Episcopal 
church. 

But, sir, I never expected to see the day when 
the distinguished layman who now presides 
over Harvard College, should become the head 
of a theological faculty of any one religious 
sect. — Tell it not Gath, publish it not in the 
streets of Askelon ! — What will the enemies of 
our holy religion now say of a union between 
church and state, when they learn, that one of 
the most distinguished civilians, of which our 
country can boast, whose eloquence has been 
heard on the floor of Congress, who has sus- 
tained a high reputation in his native State at 
the bar and on the bench, and who has directed, 
with unparalleled energy, the complicated affairs 
of a highly respectable municipality — what will 
they say, when they learn, that, by a deliberate 
act of the constituted guardians of the Uni- 
versity, he has been placed at the head of a 
theological faculty ? 

Sir, I cannot but think, though I am not in 
cabinet secrets, that the honorable gentleman 
feels the embarrassment of the situation, and 
reluctantly consents to come before the public 
as the head of a religious party, and that he 
would feel greatly relieved if this honorable and 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 385 

reverend Board would interpose their salutary 
veto, and negative the proceedings of the corpo- 
ration. 

Sir, if we must have a theological department 
in the University, let not the president of Har- 
vard College, the College of the State, be at its 
head. Separate, if you please, the Hollis pro- 
fessor of divinity from his connection with the 
academic part of the institution— and put an end 
to the question respecting the perversion of the 
Hollis legacy, which yields, I am told, only an 
inconsiderable part of the salary of the professor 
— and place him at the head of the theological 
school ; — and let it be as separate from Harvard 
College as the theological seminary at Andover 
or Newton. And let the Unitarian denomination 
support the school, and the State, as heretofore, 
support the College. 

But I shall be told that the president is only 
the nominal head of the theological department — 
that he is not to perform any of the work — not 
even to pray, as presidents have been accustomed 
to do from time immemorial in the chapel of the 
University — that all the drudgery of business is 
to be performed by another officer of the faculty, 
called by a name, not very familiar to our ears in 
this republican country, but which very strongly 
49 



386 SPEECH IN THE 

reminds us of the English hierarchy. Sir, though 
the youngest member of the faculty may do the 
work of a secretary, and even of a supervisor or 
overseer, it relieves not the head of the faculty 
from the weight of responsibility. 

But I shall be told that the president of the 
College is the official head of all the other facul- 
ties in the University — that he presides over the 
law and the medical department — that the plan 
of the University, according to the model of 
European Universities, would not be complete 
without such a supervision. In reply to this, I 
have only to remark, that the departments of law 
and medicine come within the cognizance and 
control of the State, and there can be no objec- 
tion to their connection with the University, — 
but not so with theology, unless it is intended, 
which may God forbid, to have an established 
religion. As to imitating the model of European 
Universities, let it be remembered that most of 
those Universities g,re connected with an estab- 
lished church. They are no models for us in this 
free and happy land, where no one religious sect 
is established by law. 

I regret to trespass so long on the patience of 
your Excellency and this honorable and reverend 
Board. But I wish again to refer to the proposed 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 387 

statutes — to show the direct influence which the 
theological department is calculated to have on 
the academic part of the institution. The fifth 
article provides " that the theological professors, 
with any others whom the corporation shall from 
time to time appoint to that duty, shall perform 
divine service in the chapel of the University on 
the Lord's day throughout the year." Is this 
service to be performed for the benefit of the 
theological students only ? Then why not pro- 
vide that it shall be performed in the chapel 
of the divinity hall ? — No, sir, it is intended for 
the whole institution. The undergraduates, who 
constitute the academic part, or college, are re- 
quired to attend. 

But the connection between the two depart- 
ments in the University is established, beyond a 
doubt, by the sixth article of the statutes : " The 
daily prayers in the chapel of the University, and 
also those in the chapel of divinity ha]], shall 
be attended by the theological professors." — Sir, 
how can it be said that the proposed plan of a 
theological department in the University, was 
specially designed to effect a separation between 
the college and theological school ? If it was not 
intended that the theological department should 
have a direct influence on the academic part of 



388 SPEECH IN THE 

the seminary, why not confine the duties of the 
theological professors to the divinity hall ? Why 
bring them over every morning and evening to 
the college chapel, to lead the devotions of the 
undergraduates ? The influence which such a 
sacred, such a tender, such a daily intercourse is 
calculated to have upon the young and opening 
mind, will be felt and appreciated by all. What 
better, what surer way could human wisdom 
devise to imbue the mind with any system of 
religious faith, than to bring the professed teach- 
ers of that faith in daily connection with the 
youth of a college, at the morning and evening 
sacrifice ? Sir, I pretend not to say that the 
officiating professors will introduce subjects of 
controversy into their prayers. I believe them 
to be too wise and too serious ; but, if consistent 
with themselves, they will certainly omit many 
things which the children of the orthodox part 
of the community are accustomed to hear from 
the lips of their pious parents, at the domestic 
altar. 

Sir, I hope this honorable and reverend Board 
will weigh well what they are about to do. The 
business before us is, to my mind, the most 
important that has come before this body since 
my connection with it, for more than twenty 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 389 

years. The eyes of our constituents, are 
upon us. The people of this Commonwealth 
have a deep interest at stake, in the decision 
of this question. They are composed of dif- 
ferent denominations of professing Christians. 
They expect, and have a right to expect, that 
we will show no partiality. 

There is nothing more dreaded than a union 
of church and state. Let us not give any 
occasion for this reproach by uniting any de- 
nomination of the church with this child of the 
State. Let me put it to the conscience of every 
liberal minded gentleman in this assembly — If 
a proposition was now before this Board to 
establish a Calvinistic theological faculty in the 
University of the State, and put the president 
of Harvard College at its head, would not the 
people rise, en masse, and enter their solemn 
protest against such an encroachment on reli- 
gious liberty ? Yes, sir, and I would be one of 
the first to lift up my voice against it. And 
where, I pray you, is the difference in the 
principle ? Of what consequence is it whether 
the sect, thus to be established as the religion 
of the State, believes in a long creed or a short 
one, or in no creed at all? Sir, the religious 
opinions of the proposed theological faculty are 



390 SPEECH IN THE 

well known, though they may not consist of 
thirty-nine articles — and there is the same in- 
justice in establishing, as the religion of the 
State, a sect which has no written creed, as in 
recognizing one that admits all the doctrines 
of the Westminster confession of faith. I 
repeat it, I hope this Board will weigh well 
what they are about to do. At any rate, I hope 
they will give the people of this Commonwealth 
time to reflect upon the subject, by postponing 
the decision of it to another stated meeting of 
this Board. 

Sir, I have discharged a painful duty. Gladly 
would I have relinquished it into other hands, 
but, since this honorable and reverend Board 
has become in part elective, no clerical member 
has been admitted ', though a number of vacancies 
have occurred — excepting of that religious de- 
nomination of which the proposed theological 
faculty is well known to consist. The impar- 
tiality of the chair has placed me where I stand 
on this important committee — and I could not, 
without a dereliction of principle, without a 
violation of conscience, and without a total 
disregard of the religious liberties of this Com- 
monwealth — withhold from this honorable and 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 391 

reverend Board, my reasons for not concurring 
in the report of the committee. 

I have not the vanity to suppose, that standing 
as I do in so small a minority in this Board as 
to religious opinion, I shall be successful in 
arresting the establishment of a theological 
faculty in this University, but I do hope, and 
have strong confidence, that the liberal minded 
gentlemen with whom I have the honor to be 
associated, will consent to a recommitment of 
the proposed statutes, with a view so far to 
modify them, as to separate the distinguished 
layman, who now presides over the University, 
from any connection with the theological depart- 
ment — to make the divinity school, if we must 
have one, perfectly distinct for the academic 
part of the institution — and to secure to the 
Commonwealth a pledge, that it shall look only 
to the denomination of which it consists, for its 
support. 

Sir, I have spoken for myself. 1 have given 
utterance to the spontaneous, unbiassed effusions 
of my own mind. I have not consulted with 
any man or body of men, respecting the opinions 
I have advanced in this Board. I am the organ 
of no party, religious or political. Although, in 
early life, I was thrown, by circumstances over 



392 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

which I had no control, into scenes of religious 
controversy, / am no controversialist. I have 
never appeared, nor do I wish to appear before 
the public in this character. I have been con- 
tent with my pastoral duty — and have w T ished 
to keep myself aloof from the din of controversy. 
Sir, it is because I love peace and dread polemic 
war — it is because I love my alma mater, and 
wish to see her enjoy the confidence of the 
whole people — it is because I love my country 
and am a friend of religious liberty — it is 
because I am conscientiously opposed to a 
union of church and state — that I have spoken 
with so much freedom. I trust I have dis- 
charged this duty in a spirit of meekness, and 
with a proper respect to constituted authority. 
I have stood in my lot — and although I have 
been obliged to differ from gentlemen whom I 
highly respect, I trust they will give me credit 
for being actuated by no other motive, than 
a sincere regard to the best interests of the 
University. 



393 



SPEECH, 



AT THE SEVENTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERI- 
CAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 



Mr. President, — It was with no ordinary emo- 
tions, that I saw it announced a few days since 
in one of the public journals, that your Board 
of Managers had resolved to appropriate thirty 
thousand dollars to the object contemplated in 
the resolutions, which I have had the honor to 
submit to this meeting. 

From the view which I had been taking of the 
opening fields of usefulness in the foreign distri- 
bution of the sacred scriptures by American 
missionaries, I had supposed that not less than 
fifty thousand dollars might be advantageously 
expended during the present year in that inter- 
esting department of the operations of this 
society. I was therefore gratified to find that 
50 



394 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

more than half the sum had been already appro- 
priated by your Board of Managers in view of 
the representations which had been made to 
them on this subject. In noticing this liberal 
appropriation, I observed also the condition on 
which it was made, viz. in case they are 
sustained by auxiliary societies and benevolent 
individuals. This, sir, I would hope, and fain 
believe, admits not of a question. We know too 
well the liberality of the Christian public in this 
country, to doubt for a moment that your Board 
of Managers will be liberally and cheerfully 
sustained in this noble enterprise. The only 
possible objection that I can conceive will be 
made to it is, that the appropriation is not suf- 
ficient to meet the rapidly growing demands for 
the distribution of the scriptures by this society 
in foreign lands ; and I hope that your Board of 
Managers will be encouraged by a slight altera- 
tion in the figure of their grant, to render it 
more commensurate with the wants of those who 
are perishing for lack of knowledge. 

Mr. President, it was my privilege to be 
present at the anniversary of this society a few 
years since, when it was nobly resolved to furnish 
every destitute family in the United States with 
a copy of the Bible within two years. It was, 



AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 395 

indeed, a noble resolution ; and I bless God, that 
the pledge which was then solemnly given, has 
been in a great measure redeemed, — if not in the 
letter of it — in the spirit of it. But, sir, I well 
remember that 1 thought then, that, extensive as 
it was, it did not go far enough. Patriot as I 
am, and I will yield to no one in the love of my 
country, I did not wash to see the operations of 
this society circumscribed within the bounds 
even of the new world. It was a noble senti- 
ment of a heathen poet which occasioned re- 
iterated applause from a Roman theatre, 

Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. 

The field for the operation of this society, in 
the beautiful language of the Bible itself, is the 
world. As the first propagators of the Christian 
faith were commanded by their blessed Saviour 
to disciple all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, so 
should the efforts of this society have no other 
limits than the w 7 ants of man, beginning indeed, 
in the land to which it owes its birth and foster- 
ing care. Nor should we wait till all the wants 
of our own country are supplied, before we 
direct our attention to the perishing millions of 
our race in the other hemisphere. The way to 
operate most successfully at home, is to operate 



396 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

diligently abroad. This is indeed a paradox to 
the selfish calculator, but it is perfectly under- 
stood by the disinterested and liberal Christian. 
The more that is done for foreign missions, the 
more will home missions prosper ; and the more 
that is done for the foreign distribution of the 
scriptures, the sooner will the wants of our own 
population be supplied. 

There is something in the nature of the re- 
ligion of the Bible that demands an extensive 
sphere of operation. It is a religion, not for 
an individual, nor for a family, nor for a nation 
merely, but for the whole world. It was a most 
happy designation, assumed by the parent insti- 
tution in Great Britain, when it commenced its 
benevolent work under the name of the British 
and Foreign Bible Society. Its name spake its 
design — that, while the root of the tree was 
planted in British soil, its leaves were for the 
healing of the nations. Our society is styled the 
American Bible Society, and it is a name which 
we love, and which is associated with many 
delightful images of home and of country ; but it 
is not an exclusive name, nor was it intended to 
denote an exclusive object. What true-hearted 
American does not wish to see the star-spangled 
banner of his nation wave in every part of the 



AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 397 

world ? And shall the patriot desire to see the 
principles of rational liberty take root in every 
land, and will not the friend of God, and his 
country, still more desire to see her employed in 
diffusing the precious truths of Christian liberty 
in every nation and among every people on the 
globe ? 

And, sir, through the providence of God, our 
society possesses remarkable facilities for dif- 
fusing the knowledge of the sacred volume 
throughout the world. The very name she bears 
is her passport to every nation and every clime. 
The nations of the earth, that have long groaned 
under the iron bondage of arbitrary power, will 
receive from her hands, with peculiar satisfaction, 
that holy volume, which proclaims liberty to the 
captives and the opening of the prison doors to 
them that are bound. She is connected with no 
ecclesiastical establishment, which might awaken 
suspicion and jealousy in those of a different 
communion. She has no sectarian views to 
promote, no party objects to gain, no political 
designs to accomplish. Her sole aim is to 
distribute the word of life, as she has received 
it from its divine Author, unincumbered with 
any of the explanations and comments of fallible 
men. 



393 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

And, in sending this heavenly treasure to 
heathen lands, she is not to seek out channels 
for its conveyance, nor to overcome any diffi- 
culties in the way of its reaching its destina- 
tion and accomplishing the good for which it 
is designed. The way is prepared, wonderfully 
prepared by the providence of God. Devoted 
missionaries from our own country, of different 
denominations, are the successful pioneers in this 
work of mercy. Their voice is heard, like that 
of the forerunner of Him, whose word we would 
distribute, crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye 
the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert 
a highway for our God. By their self-denying 
and indefatigable labors, these devoted men have 
prepared the way for the distribution of the 
scriptures in foreign lands. They have over- 
come the difficulties of acquiring the knowledge 
of heathen languages, and, what is still more 
difficult, through the gracious aid of the Holy 
Spirit, they have overcome the prejudices of the 
heathen themselves, who have become not only 
willing to receive, but ardently desirous of obtain- 
ing the word of life. 

In Burmah, at the imminent hazard of liberty 
and life, the Gospel has been successfully planted 
by our Baptist brethren — and a considerable por- 



AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 399 

tion of the New Testament translated into the 
Burmese language, and now ready for circulation. 
In aid of this most interesting object, the Chris- 
tian public have learnt, with peculiar gratifica- 
tion, that five thousand dollars has already been 
appropriated by this society, and it is hoped that 
the whole empire of Burmah will be supplied 
as fast as it is prepared to receive the scriptures. 
The New Testament has been translated by 
the American missionaries at Bombay into the 
Mahratta language, and is already in extensive 
circulation. The Ceylon mission has a great field 
in which to operate, and admirable opportunities 
for circulating the scriptures. The seat of the 
mission is in Jaffna, the northern district of the 
island, containing two hundred thousand people, 
speaking the Tamul language. This language 
is also spoken by eight or nine millions on the 
adjacent Coromandel coast, where it is expected 
a branch of this mission will soon be established. 
It is exceedingly desirable that at least ten thou- 
sand copies of the Tamul scriptures, should be 
placed at the disposal of the missionaries at this 
important station without delay. China, with 
its immense population, is probably destined to 
be one of the principal theatres of American 
missions, and of course one of the most inter- 



400 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

esting fields of the operations of the American 
Bible Society. Copies of the scriptures will 
soon be needed in the Malay, Siamese, and 
Chinese languages, particularly the latter. An 
edition of the Chinese New Testament will 
be indispensable. And to what object can the 
American Bible Society turn its attention with 
greater prospect of success than to the distribu- 
tion of the holy scriptures in a language, which 
can be understood by so many millions of our 
race, who have been, for so many ages, en- 
trenched against divine truth by prejudices more 
impregnable than the famous rampart of their 
country ? The American missionaries in the 
Mediterranean possess most favorable opportu- 
nities for the distribution of the scriptures in 
Syria, Constantinople and Greece, in the Ara- 
bic, Turkish, Armenian, Greek and Hebrew 
languages. 

The attention of the American Bible Society 
has already been directed to that most important 
and interesting field of usefulness, so successfully 
explored and cultivated by American missionaries 
in the islands of the Pacific. We are happy to 
learn that in their efforts to supply the Sandwich 
islands with the sacred scriptures, this society is 
sustained by one of her most powerful auxiliaries. 



AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 401 

May we not hope, sir, that this noble example 
will be followed by other important auxiliary 
societies — that one will select the Burmah mis- 
sion for its appropriate sphere of operation — 
another the mission at Bombay and at Ceylon — 
another the mission to China — another the mis- 
sion to Palestine and Greece — and so on, till 
every American missionary station throughout 
the world has some efficient auxiliary Bible 
Society pledged to see it supplied with a suffi- 
cient number of copies of that sacred volume, 
without which the most faithful missionaries of 
the cross will labor in vain and spend their 
strength for nought. 

And, sir, is not this a duty which we owe 
to those devoted men, who have gone far away 
to heathen lands, and in some instances to un- 
friendly climes, to publish to the guilty dying 
pagan the way of salvation by a crucified Saviour ? 
Shall we not furnish them with that heavenly 
map, that divine chart, by which they may be 
enabled to direct, with safety, the anxious and 
inquiring heathen to the New Jerusalem. When, 
by the blessing of the Son of God upon their 
labors, they have succeeded in awakening the 
attention of the multitudes around them to the 
things which concern their everlasting peace — 
51 



402 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

when their doors are thronged by the old and the 
young soliciting a Bible or a Testament, with 
an importunity of which, in this favored land of 
Bibles, we can form no conception— shall this 
noble institution, whose anniversary we this day 
commemorate, refuse its ready assistance to 
supply them with the word of life without 
delay ? No, sir, they will not. Your Board of 
Managers have pledged themselves that they will 
not — and this pledge will be sustained by every 
auxiliary society in the country, by every be- 
nevolent individual in this assembly, and by 
every friend of the Bible throughout the land. 

Nor, sir, will we suffer American missionaries 
any longer to look to any other source for a 
supply of the sacred scriptures than to the 
American Bible Society. In this work the 
British and Foreign Bible Society have acted 
nobly. They have been as forward to assist 
American missionaries, as they have to assist 
missionaries from their own country, and they 
have actually been at the expense of printing 
two versions of the New Testament made by 
our missionaries, viz., the Mahratta, and the 
Armeno-Turkish. Admirable exemplification of 
the spirit inculcated in that blessed book, which 
it is the object of that society to make the prop- 
erty of all mankind ! 



AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 403 

But, sir, though their disinterested aid is 
worthy of all praise, it is high time that they 
should be relieved from the necessity of supply- 
ing American missionaries with the means of 
publishing the gospel of Christ. This work 
belongs to the American Bible Society, and we 
are no longer willing that our elder sister, much 
as we respect and love her, should monopolize 
the glorious work of foreign distribution. We 
will share it with her ; at least we will take care 
that she shall be relieved from the responsibilities 
of supplying missionaries from this country with 
the holy scriptures ; and we will aspire to the 
high honor of being co-workers with her in 
the noble and sublime undertaking of furnishing 
every family on the globe with a copy of the 
word of life. And this is an object worthy 
the combined efforts of these sister institutions. 
Hand in hand, then, and heart with heart, let 
them go forward in this heavenly enterprise, nor 
cease their benevolent labors, until the knowledge 
of the Lord fill the whole earth as the waters do 
the sea ; until all who dwell on the face of the 
globe, of every nation and kindred and tongue 
and people shall read, in their own language, the 
wonderful works of God. 



404 



ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 



It is a pleasant and delightful consideration, 
when weeping over the cold remains of a 
departed friend, who has been eminently useful 
in his day and generation, that his virtues will 
survive the decay of his body, and his services 
be held in everlasting remembrance. This con- 
solation and support have the friends of that 
excellent man, whose mortal part now lies before 
us, on its way to the narrow house appointed for 
all the living. In this temple, in which he once 
delighted to worship, and where it was his privi- 
lege and honor to serve the table of the Lord — 
in the presence of this church and congregation, 
whose interests, temporal and spiritual, were so 
near his heart, and for whom he so faithfully 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 405 

and incessantly labored — he now appears in the 
habiliments of the grave. 

" His languishing head is at rest, 
Its thinking and aching are o'er. 
His quiet, immovable breast 

Is heaved by affliction no more." 

We trust, however, that while we are employed 
in paying our last tribute of respect to departed 
worth, the immortal spirit, released from its 
prison of clay, has entered a temple not made 
with hands, and joined the assembly of the 
church of the first born, whose names are written 
in heaven. It becomes us then, that w T e sorrow 
not as others who have no hope ; for if we be- 
lieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring 
with him. 

The character of men, while living, is not 
always correctly appreciated. Prejudices, some- 
times of a local and personal nature, tend for a 
time to obscure real worth, and withhold deserved 
praise ; and the splendor, which vicious men 
contrive to spread around them, often conceals 
the deformity of vice, and serves to delay the 
censure which the world will finally bestow upon 



406 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

their conduct, when viewed by cool reflection 
aft6r they have passed from the stage of action. 
Posterity will generally do justice to the char- 
acters of men, and correct the mistakes, which 
may have arisen from the misrepresentations, 
either of envious cotemporaries or servile adula- 
tors. The purity of the good man's motives will 
be acknowledged, when those who endeavored 
to detract from his worth, and lessen his in- 
fluence, will be forever forgotten. The sinister 
views and selfish ends of the wicked will be 
discovered and condemned, when it will be no 
longer the interest of flatterers to blazon their 
reputation for imaginary virtues. Those who 
have never been distinguished, either for the 
good or evil they have done to mankind will be 
suffered to sink quietly into the grave of oblivion, 
while the memory of the wicked will survive, as 
a monitory example to shun the steps which they 
pursued to disgraceful renown, and the righteous 
will be held in everlasting remembrance, as a 
powerful incentive to tread the path, which leads 
to glory, honor and immortality. 

It is a source of satisfaction, when men who 
have been useful in the world are taken away, 
to reflect, that although they cease to benefit 
mankind by their active services, they continue 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 407 

to instruct and serve them by their example. 
The sayings of the wise, and the conduct of the 
good, are often treasured up in the memory of 
the living, and produce the happiest effects. 
The children of a judicious and pious parent 
may profit by his instructions and example long 
after he is removed from their tender embrace. 
The members of a community may avail them- 
selves of the ability and counsel of those who 
once filled important stations in society, after 
these stations have been vacated by death ; and 
the world may be benefited by the effect of 
their labors, who, while they lived, devoted 
themselves to the glory of God, and the good 
of men. Their services will not be forgotten. 
Though they rest from their labors, their works 
will follow them. There will always be found 
those of their posterity, who will delight to dwell 
on their virtues and to cherish their remem- 
brance. The memorial of their name and their 
good deeds, to use the language of a beautiful 
writer, will be still fresh as the morning breeze, 
and fragrant as the flowers of the spring. 

Those, who have been distinguished during 
life for their exertions to benefit mankind, have 
a claim upon the grateful remembrance of the 
living ; and though to them it is of little or no 



408 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

consequence to be remembered by a world, 
from which they are forever removed, yet the 
acknowledgment of their worth, and the respect 
paid to their memory, is not only peculiarly con- 
soling to their immediate friends, but tends to 
encourage and animate others to go and do 
likewise. 

If it is the duty of mankind in general, to 
cherish the memory of those who have been 
useful to the world, more particularly is it the 
duty of Christians to hold those in everlasting 
remembrance, who have been instrumental in 
aiding and defending the church of Christ. All 
the services rendered to the world, and of a 
worldly nature, are of little importance, when 
compared with exertions in the cause of religion, 
truth, and holiness. Those who have been 
useful to the world, by the world will be remem- 
bered ; — but those who have served the cause 
of the Redeemer, and for his sake made many 
sacrifices ; who have not been ashamed of his 
cross, but openly professed their faith in him, 
as the Lord their righteousness ; who have con- 
tended against principalities, and powers, and 
spiritual wickedness in high places, and fought 
like good soldiers under the great Captain of 
their salvation — those are the men who shall be 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 409 

held in everlasting remembrance, by God himself, 
by Christ, the head of the church, by the angels 
in heaven, and the redeemed on earth. 

Among those, who have been eminently useful, 
both to the world and to the church, may justly 
be ranked our excellent friend, whose remains 
we are now about to follow to the tomb. The 
relation in which he stood to this society, the 
church, and myself, renders it proper that suita- 
ble notice should here be taken of his life and 
character. — By his death I have lost a warm and 
steady friend, a wise and able counsellor. To 
him, more than to any other individual, are this 
religious society and myself indebted, under God, 
for our present peace and prosperity. Blessed 
are the peace makers, for they shall be called the 
children of God. By us, my friends, I trust he 
will never be forgotten, but his character and 
services held in everlasting remembrance. 

General Badlam was descended from pious 
parents. His father was an officer of the church 
in Stoughton, (now Canton,) under the pastoral 
care of the Rev. Mr. Dunbar. He was chosen 
deacon at the early age of twenty-nine, and lived 
only eight years to perform the duties of that 
important office. His son, our late respected 
deacon, being left an orphan at an early age, 
52 



410 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

had few advantages of education ; a circum- 
stance much to be regretted, for, had he enjoyed 
the privilege of liberal tuition,* he possessed a 
strength and power of mind, that would have 
qualified him to have filled with dignity and 
acceptance the highest stations in public life. 

In the year 1775, he joined the American 
army in defence of liberty and the rights of his 
country. He soon received a commission as 
second lieutenant of artillery, from which he was 
rapidly promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, 
and then captain. He was ordered to join the 
army under the command of general Lee, at 
New York, where he formed an acquaintance 
with the late general Alexander Hamilton, who 
suitably appreciated his talents as an engineer, 
and, being then a youth, frequently consulted 
him on the subject of military tactics. He was 
also known to, and highly esteemed by general 
Washington, whose disciple, in the political 
school, he continued to his death. From New 
York he sailed for Canada up Hudson's river, to 
command the artillery in that department, and 
received for that purpose a major's commission. 

* Notwithstanding general Badlam was deprived of these advantages, 
he supplied the defect as much as possible, by his own diligence and 
unwearied attention, and made very respectable progress in mathe- 
matical science, and was distinguished for his knowledge of mechanics. 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 411 

From Canada he returned to Crown Point, and 
took possession of Mount Independence, on the 
memorable 4th of July, 1776, from which circum- 
stance its name was given by major Badlam, and 
confirmed by general Gates. Here he was inter- 
rupted in his military career. Being seized with 
a violent fever, and his returning health despaired 
of by his physicians, he was under the necessity 
of resigning his commission, and retiring to pri- 
vate life. 

In the course of this illness his mind was 
exercised with the most serious and alarming 
thoughts of death, judgment and eternity ; and 
he then, as he has lately informed me, entered 
into a most solemn covenant engagement with 
God, that, if his life should be spared, he would 
devote it to his glory and the good of mankind. 
Of this secret transaction with heaven he was 
never accustomed to speak, and I presume never 
mentioned it to any one except to myself in his 
last sickness, when, with tears in his eyes, he 
lamented his short comings and backslidings, and 
trusted for pardon, only through the blood of 
atonement. His health, through the mercy of 
God, was perfectly restored, and he enjoyed an 
unusual share of that blessing, till that fatal 



412 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

stroke of the palsy, which admonished him and 
his friends of his approaching dissolution. 

In the year 1791, he was appointed justice of 
the peace, and afterwards of the quorum. His 
commissions were five times renewed, and he 
held them till his death, discharging the im- 
portant duties incumbent upon him with great 
acceptance. — In the year 1799, he received a 
commission, appointing him general of the first 
brigade of the first division of the militia of 
Massachusetts. 

He was eminently useful in the gathering of 
the second church, and incorporation of the 
second parish in this town ; and in 1 808, was 
unanimously elected senior deacon of the church, 
which expression of confidence was peculiarly 
grateful to his feelings, as he often said he con- 
sidered the title of deacon a much greater honor 
than any other titles by which he was distin- 
guished. He could say in the language of the 
Psalmist — I had rather be a door keeper in the 
house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness. 

His exertions in behalf of the second church 
and parish in their arduous struggle and dis- 
tressing controversy are well known. In this 
important concern of his life, he was actuated, 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 413 

not by passion, but by principle ; not by party 
spirit, but by an attachment to the cause of 
peace, and truth, and righteousness. No one, 
who knew general Badlam, could ever suspect 
him of bigotry or fanaticism ; and those, who 
knew him best, must be fully satisfied that he 
engaged in the late unhappy controversy from 
the purest motives. Had it been merely a local 
and parish dispute, he would never have con- 
descended to have taken so decided and active 
a part in its prosecution. But firmly believing 
that not this society only, but other societies 
and other ministers were deeply interested in 
the result, he thought it a duty he owed to God 
and religion to interpose the weight of his char- 
acter and influence in favor of that cause, which 
he defended with such ability and success. He 
enjoyed the great satisfaction of living to see 
the difficulties in this place amicably settled, and 
of witnessing the increasing prosperity of the 
church and congregation, in which he had taken 
so deep and lively an interest. It was not to be 
expected, that in a dispute, which produced so 
much sensibility, he could have escaped without 
animadversions from those who differed from him 
in sentiment, and who were naturally excited by 
the counteraction of their views and designs. 



414 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

which was principally effected, under the divine 
blessing, by his judgment and penetration. But 
injustice to his memory it is my duty to state, 
that he died in peace with all mankind, that he 
suffered no unpleasant reflections to embitter 
his last moments, and that he sincerely forgave 
those who had injured him, as he hoped himself 
to be forgiven by his God. The respect which 
is paid to his memory, and the presence of many 
on this solemn occasion, who have differed from 
him in sentiment, justifies the pleasing reflection, 
that, although they may not have agreed with 
him in opinion, they will cheerfully unite in 
holding his virtues and services in everlasting 
remembrance. 

When such a man, as the deceased, is removed 
from this scene of action, a chasm is made in 
society, which cannot easily be filled. The 
domestic circle is deprived of its centre, round 
which it delighted to revolve. The tears of 
the afflicted and disconsolate widow declare, in 
unutterable language, the loss of a kind and 
affectionate husband. As a father, he was 
greatly respected and beloved by his children, 
whom he lived to see happily settled in life. 
As a citizen and magistrate, he was highly and 
justly esteemed, and his loss will be long and 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 415 

sensibly felt in his immediate neighborhood, in 
this town, and throughout this county. His 
judgment was so much respected, that in this 
and the neighboring towns he was frequently 
consulted as a referee in difficult and intricate 
cases, and many can bear testimony to the 
satisfaction afforded by his judicious advice. As 
a member and officer of the church of Christ, 
he was eminently useful and highly respected. 
He died in the faith of the doctrine of the 
cross. * The subject, upon which he delighted 
to converse with myself and others, was the 
doctrine of the atonement by the death and 
sufferings of Jesus Christ. On this sure foun- 
dation he rested his hope of eternal life. 

He is now gone, as we humbly trust, to receive 
the reward of a faithful servant in his Master's 
kingdom. All that remains of his mortal part 
will in a few moments be consigned to its native 
dust ; but his memory will live in the hearts of 
his friends, and the important services which he 
has rendered the church of Christ, be told in 
many places where the gospel is preached as a 
memorial of him. 



* He lamented, with tears, the progress of Unitarianism and Univer- 
salism ; the former he thought derogatory to the glory due to the Son of 
God, and the latter tending to weaken the bonds of moral obligation. 



416 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

His afflicted family have our affectionate 
sympathy, with our fervent prayers that this 
event may be sanctified to their everlasting good. 
It is true, theirs is no common loss ; for it was 
around his fireside, and in the bosom of his 
family, that our departed friend appeared in the 
most endearing and interesting light. He will 
no longer labor for their welfare and delight in 
their happiness ; no longer share in their joys 
and sympathize in their sorrows. But he has 
left a rich legacy for them in his example, 
which it will be their duty to follow, so far as 
he followed Christ. My afflicted friends, let 
me direct you for support to that inexhaustible 
fountain of consolation, the word of God. There 
we are told, that the Lord doth not afflict 
willingly, nor grieve the children of men ; — and 
that no chastening for the present seemeth joyous 
but grievous, nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth 
the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them 
which are exercised thereby. Let me entreat 
you then to trust in the Lord, and submit with- 
out murmuring to his will. Let the language of 
your hearts be — It is the Lord, let him do what 
seemeth good in his sight. The Lord gave, the 
Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of 
the Lord ! 



FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 417 

Brethren of the church and of the congrega- 
tion, we have sustained an irreparable loss. But 
while we mourn our loss, let us be thankful that 
a life so valuable was continued so long ; that we 
enjoyed his services at a time when we peculiarly 
needed them. Let us remember, that the same 
God that raised him up, and qualified him to be 
useful in the church, can with the same ease 
raise up other instruments to promote his glory. 
Let us devoutly look to him, and earnestly pray 
that the mantle of Elijah may rest upon some 
Elisha. 

It now only remains that we who survive, 
should make a suitable improvement of this 
afflicting dispensation of divine Providence. 
Death is at all times, and under all circum- 
stances, serious and solemn. It should with- 
draw our attention from this world, and lead us 
to reflect on our own mortality. But the death 
of the eminently wise and good is calculated to 
make a still deeper impression on the mind, and 
to convey useful and important instruction to the 
living. 

While we meditate on the character of the 
valuable and useful man, whose remains now lie 
before us, let us resolve in the strength of divine 
grace, to live henceforth more to the glory of 

53 



418 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 

God, and the good of mankind. Let us be 
encouraged to labor to promote the cause of 
Christ in the world, and faithfully to defend it 
in the midst of a wicked and perverse genera- 
tion — thus shall we be useful in life, peaceful 
in death, and, like our respected and beloved 
friend, be in everlasting remembrance. 



419 



ADDRESS, 

AT THE FUNERAL OF HENRY B. McLELLAN. 



We have assembled, my friends, to pay a 
tribute of respect to the memory of Henry B. 
McLellan, a name peculiarly dear to many whom 
I address, and which will be embalmed in their 
recollection as long as the power of reminiscence 
continues. 

Seldom do we witness a more striking instance 
of the disappointment of human expectation, than 
in the affecting event which has convened us to- 
gether. Our young friend had just completed his 
preparation for the sacred ministry. In yonder 
academic halls he pursued his classical course in 
company with his youthful associates, to whom 
he greatly endeared himself by his affectionate 
and social disposition — his bland and winning 
manners — his kind and courteous address. The 



420 FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. 

presence of several of them on this occasion, and 
their grief at his premature removal, testify to his 
unblemished reputation, and the strong hold he 
retained on their affections. Having finished his 
academic course, he made choice of the Christian 
ministry, as the profession to which he intended 
to devote his future life. With a view to more 
extensive usefulness, he left his native land, and 
devoted the last two years of his life to theo- 
logical studies, principally in Edinburgh, under 
the guidance and direction of that distinguished 
man and powerful preacher, Dr. Chalmers. A 
few months since he returned to his native coun- 
try, in perfect health and with the most flattering 
prospects of future usefulness. He was on the 
point of offering himself for license to preach 
the gospel at an association of ministers, which 
assembled in Cambridge a few weeks since, 
when he was seized with that fatal illness, which 
terminated his mortal career and his earthly 
prospects. 

Mysterious Heaven! how unsearchable are 
thy judgments and thy ways past finding out ! 
To us, short sighted mortals, the life of our 
young friend appeared peculiarly desirable. We 
had fondly anticipated that he would be emi- 
nently useful in the church of Christ. But God's 



FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. 421 

ways are not as our ways. He had other em- 
ployment for him in the world of spirits, and he 
has called him home in the morning, and saved 
him from the heat and burden of the day. Even 
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight ! 

But, though the expectations of his numerous 
and strongly attached friends are thus disap- 
pointed, they have rich consolation in his death. 
His Christian character, to those who knew him 
best, was most satisfactory. We have reason 
to believe that he lived very near to God, and 
enjoyed much of his presence and the consola- 
tions of his Spirit. He had the confidence of 
many highly esteemed Christian friends, with 
whom he delighted to associate, and to mingle 
his supplications with theirs at the throne of 
grace. He was peculiarly formed for the en- 
dearments of friendship ; and his friends were 
not confined to his own family, nor to his own 
land. Wherever he went, he made friends, and 
he has left many on the other side of the At- 
lantic, who will deeply mourn his early exit. 

I have had occasion to know much of the 
interest he excited in many highly esteemed and 
beloved friends during his short residence abroad. 
Letters, which I have received from much valued 
correspondents, breathe the most ardent and af- 



422 FUNERAL OF H. B. M ? LELLAN. 

fectionate interest in the welfare of our departed 
young friend. If he was so valued by those who 
were comparatively strangers to him, how will 
his loss be felt by those who have known him 
from his infancy, — by his venerated parents, 
who have expected much satisfaction from his 
increasing usefulness in the ministry of recon- 
ciliation — by his brothers and sisters, to whom 
he was greatly endeared— by his early associates, 
who have been called to part with a pleasant 
companion and warm hearted friend — by his 
Christian brethren, with whom he delighted to 
go to the house of God in company ? Their loss 
is indeed great, but their consolations are also 
great. They sorrow not as those without hope. 

Although the nature of his disease precluded 
that satisfaction which is often experienced by 
religious conversation in sickness, his previous 
life is the best ground of evidence of preparation 
for death ; and this evidence the friends of the 
departed have in no ordinary degree. — Dry up 
your tears then, my respected and beloved 
friends. Weep not for him, for he is tuning 
his golden harp to the praises of redeeming love 
in heaven. Be thankful, Christian parents, that 
you have had such a son, and that he has ripened 
so soon for heaven. 



FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. 423 

" Ye would have sought your offspring dear 
A station in a temple here ; 
But Jesus' love prepared a place 
Where he beholds him face to face. 

Cease then to mourn his early doom, 
Nor wish him rescued from the tomb ; 
For lo! to yonder courts of light, 
His seraph soul has winged its flight. 

Rest on the Saviour's promise still, 
And, tarrying, wait his gracious will ; 
Ere long a voice shall bid you come, 
And Henry breathe your welcome home." 

Let his pious example induce all the members 
of the domestic circle to be followers of him, as 
he was of Christ. May the breach, which has 
been made upon a numerous and united family 
by sundering the fraternal tie, be sanctified, 
especially to those members of it, who are just 
entering upon life, with raised expectations of 
future usefulness and happiness. 

The associates of my young friend, especially 
those who have passed with him through the 
interesting period of college life, will accept my 
sincere sympathy under this affecting bereave- 
ment. I am well aware of the strong attach- 
ments that are formed on this classic ground. 
The lapse of thirty years has not weakened my 



424 FUNERAL OF H. B. M'LELLAN. 

own impression of the strength of this attach- 
ment ; and the scenes, by which we are here 
surrounded, are as vivid in my recollection as 
they were when, with the friends of my youth, 
we delighted to ramble in these shady groves, 
which we then little thought would become the 
resting place for the ashes of the dead. 

But this quiet retreat, this scene of our youth- 
ful musings, this resort of our leisure [hours is 
well appropriated. Here, as time revolves, when 
we visit this consecrated asylum of the dead, and 
perambulate these lovely woods, and stroll along 
the paths, endeared to us by so many youthful 
associations, we may pause at the simple monu- 
ment that records the name of a beloved class- 
mate, and drop a tear over his tomb. This sad 
privilege will you enjoy, my young friends, as 
the endeared name of Henry meets your eye, in 
your visits to this field of graves. 

But while you are thus reminded of the friend 
of your youth, and of those days of literary pur- 
suit and social intercourse with which his name 
is so closely associated, let me urge you to regard 
with special interest, that holy principle of divine 
grace which made him what he was — which 
sanctified his naturally amiable temper — which 
restrained him from youthful levity — which ex- 



FUNERAL OF H. B. M'LELLAN. 425 

cited in him such an interest for the welfare and 
happiness of others, and which led him in the 
bloom of his youth to consecrate himself to the 
service of God in the ministry of his Son. It 
was religion, that constituted the charm of his 
character ; that procured him so many attached 
and faithful friends ; that brightened his short 
course through this vale of tears ; that prepared 
him for his early departure and ripened him for 
immortality. His religion was not speculative 
and controversial. It was deep, experimental 
and practical. He learned it, not from the 
schools and the commandments of fallible men, 
but at the cross of Christ. 

" He came to the cross, when his young cheek was blooming, 
And raised to the Lord the bright glance of his eye, 
And when o'er its beauty death's darkness was glooming, 
The cross did uphold him, the Saviour was nigh." 

If, then, my young friends, you would imbibe 
his spirit and imitate his example, let me direct 
you to the cross of Christ, to that precious 
Saviour, who died that you might live. It was 
faith in his atoning blood, and the renewing and 
sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit that 
prepared our young friend for heaven. Be per- 
suaded to trust in the same vicarious sacrifice, 
54 



426 FUNERAL OF H. B. IVt'LELLAN. 

and to seek the same gracious influences, that 
you may be prepared to join his immortal spirit 
in that bright and happy world where you will 
part no more. 

My hearers, how solemn and affecting is the 
scene we are this day called, in the providence 
of God, to witness ! We have seen a young 
man of promising talents, of the most amiable 
disposition, of unquestioned piety, surrounded by 
every thing that could make life desirable, with 
the most flattering prospects — cut down like the 
flower of the field, and consigned to the narrow 
house appointed for all the living. What is our 
life ? It is a vapor, that appeareth for a little 
time and then vanisheth away. Lord, make us 
to know our end, and the measure of our days, 
what it is, that we may know how frail we are ! 
So teach us to number our days that we may 
incline our hearts unto wisdom ! 



427 



ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. HARRIET STORRS. 



There are some events, in the providence of 
God, so completely overwhelming as to render 
it extremely difficult, almost impossible, to give 
utterance to the full feelings of the soul through 
the medium of words. Language refuses its aid 
to relieve the burdened heart ; and the op- 
pressed spirit finds itself more inclined to the 
deep silence of grief, than to the expression of 
its sorrows by the human voice. 

When the heart-rending intelligence reached 
us of the event that has filled our souls with 
grief and dismay, we felt that no language could 
relieve our distress or mitigate our sorrow. We 
were dumb : we opened not our mouth. Our 
hearts bled — and they bled most freely in silence. 



428 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 

But the solemnities of the occasion await us, 
and the usages of society demand, that we should 
attempt to give utterance, in the presence of our 
fellow creatures, to those feelings, which we 
can pour out before our compassionate God and 
Saviour in sighs and tears, without the inter- 
vention of set forms of speech. — But where shall 
we find words to express the depth of our af- 
fliction ? Where shall we find language to 
depict the character of the dear departed — or to 
administer comfort and support to the beloved 
survivors ? 

Mysterious Heaven ! how unsearchable are 
thy judgments, and thy ways past finding out ! 
We bow before that holy and righteous Being, 
whose inspiration gave us understanding, and 
who has the undoubted right to resume the gift 
which he bestowed. We know that all his ways 
are just and equal, and that he will not hold 
us accountable for any act, committed in the 
absence of that mental and moral power by 
which we are enabled to distinguish between 
right and wrong. 

On the painful and distressing circumstances, 
by which our ever lamented and beloved friend 
is numbered among the silent dead, we will 
dwell no longer than to express an entire and 



FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 429 

unwavering conviction, that her character and 
present condition cannot in the least degree be 
affected by the manner of her removal from 
this sublunary state. We have not a doubt, that 
the spiritual intelligence, which once beamed 
upon us with such mild and gentle lustre, and 
which was, for a short season, shrouded in dark- 
ness, is now rekindled by the same gracious hand 
that so mysteriously overshadowed it — to burn, 
with increasing and never ending brightness, with 
seraphs that surround the throne of God. 

It is utterly impossible for the speaker to do 
justice to the character of our much loved friend, 
though it has been his privilege to have known 
her worth for nearly thirty years. The circle 
of Christians w 7 hich, at the time of his first 
acquaintance with her, then resided in our me- 
tropolis, many of whom are how 7 in heaven, 
were distinguished for deep and ardent piety. 
Surrounded as they were by fashionable and in- 
creasing errors, they maintained their integrity 
and held fast their attachment to the doctrines 
of grace. The precious names of Mrs. Waters, 
and Mrs. Mason, and other aged saints, are 
embalmed in the memory of many a child of 
God. With these venerable pilgrims was as- 
sociated a young disciple, who, with all the 



430 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 

loveliness of youthful attractions, separated her- 
self from the world, and consecrated herself to 
the service of her God and Saviour. From the 
prayers and conversation of these aged saints, 
through the blessing of God, she seemed to 
receive a peculiar unction of spirit, which was 
strikingly characteristic of her future course. 
In all plans of usefulness, which were small 
and few when compared with those which dis- 
tinguish this stirring age, no one took a more 
decided and active part. Her peculiarly affec- 
tionate manner ingratiated her with many, who 
were won by her mild and lovely spirit to con- 
geniality of sentiment and effort. Her useful- 
ness at that period, in the sphere in which she 
moved, was by no means inconsiderable ; but the 
great Head of the church had still more impor- 
tant and interesting duties for her to perform. 

There are few situations in life that present 
more promising fields of usefulness to a pious, 
devoted female, than that of the wife of a minis- 
ter of a united parish. Even the pastor himself, 
with his additional opportunities of affording 
instruction from the sacred desk, can scarcely 
exert a greater or a happier influence upon the 
minds and hearts of his congregation, than is 
often produced by the more humble, but not less 



FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 431 

important labors of his devoted companion. Her 
influence is not unfrequently greater than his, 
especially upon her own sex, and upon the 
tender, opening minds of the lambs of the flock. 
In the promotion of benevolent enterprise, by 
female associations, and in maternal counsels and 
prayers for the children of the church, she finds 
her appropriate and successful sphere, though 
upon the whole congregation, in their varied 
seasons of prosperity and adversity, her silent 
but benign influence is felt like the dew of Her- 
mon, like the dew that descended upon the 
mountains of Zion. 

From the more diversified and exciting scenes 
of usefulness in a city, our departed friend was 
called to the more arduous and self-denying la- 
bors that devolve upon the conscientious wife of 
the pastor of a country parish. With what un- 
tiring zeal, with what scrupulous fidelity, she 
discharged these duties, I need only appeal to 
this crowded, this weeping, this afflicted assem- 
bly ! From lisping infancy to hoary age, the 
testimony is one and the same. The children of 
affliction remember with affectionate gratitude 
her tender sympathy and her active benevolence. 
With the spirit of her divine Master, it may be 
truly said, that in all their afflictions she was 



432 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 

afflicted. Mothers, with their youthful charge, 
will never forget her wise counsels and her 
fervent prayers. The aged and infirm will pour 
out their benedictions upon her memory, and 
even babes and sucklings will lisp the praises of 
one, who watched with maternal solicitude over 
their cradles, and taught them to pronounce the 
name of Jesus. 

But, great and painful as this bereavement is 
to this afflicted people, — their griefs are almost 
forgotten, when we turn to the chief mourner in 
this scene of deep and heart-rending calamity. 
God help thee, my brother ! The God of Jacob, 
the Angel of the Covenant, sustain thee ! That 
your brethren, your people, the church of Christ, 
your numerous and attached friends, feel for you, 
you cannot doubt. Could they have averted the 
dreadful blow, how readily would they have has- 
tened to your relief. But no human precaution 
could turn aside the fatal stroke. Dethroned 
reason will find opportunity to escape the most 
vigilant eye, and to elude the most watchful care. 
But dwell not, my brother, on circumstances 
which were beyond human control, and which 
affect not in the least degree the accountability 
of the dear departed. Bury in the grave, to 
which we are soon to assign these precious relics, 



FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 433 

as far as possible, the memory of the awful cir- 
cumstances that attended their dissolution, and 
think only of the bright and happy spirit of what 
she was, and what she is. O ! she was every 
thing which a fond husband could desire in a com- 
panion of his life and labors ; truly a help-mete 
for him in his temporal and spiritual concerns, in 
his family, and in his parish ; in the social circle, 
and in the widely extended plans of usefulness in 
which the devoted servant of Christ is sometimes 
engaged beyond the limits of his congregation. 

My brother, in the repeated domestic bereave- 
ments which you have sustained, you have in- 
deed been greatly afflicted ; but you have also 
been greatly blessed. To the lot of but few 
does it fall to have been united to two such com- 
panions to cheer them in their pilgrimage through 
this vale of tears. Their sainted spirits are 
waiting to receive you to those blessed mansions 
where reason holds her unclouded empire, where 
sighing and sorrow can never come, where death 
can never enter, and where sin can never defile. 

But not yet, my brother. The Lord hath 

need of you to work in his vineyard. From your 

repeated and heart-rending trials you will be 

better qualified, than ever, for that important 

55 



434 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 

work which the Lord has assigned you in his 
American Israel. Go on then, my brother, and 
spend and be spent for Christ ; and when you 
shall have performed your appointed service, you 
shall be welcomed by those whom you have loved 
on earth, to the society of the redeemed — to the 
vision of Jesus — to the presence of God. 

And you, the dear and only child of the la- 
mented dead ! My heart bleeds for you. Your 
loss is indeed irreparable ; but a mother's prayers 
are your legacy, and they are better than thou- 
sands of gold and silver. How much she loved 
you, and how closely you were entwined about 
the fibres of her heart, is abundantly evident from 
the affecting fact, that maternal solicitude, strug- 
gling with departing reason, directed her to the 
bed of her sleeping child to bid him a last and 
long farewell. Although the affecting circum- 
stances of her removal can never be obliterated 
from your memory, think less of them than of 
the pious counsels, the holy example, the fervent 
prayers of your much-loved mother. Let these 
dwell on your mind, and they will be a restraint, 
a comfort, and a support to you under all the 
various trials of life to which you may be called. 
God bless you, my dear child ! May your life be 
spared to your surviving parent, to console him 



FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 435 

in his deep affliction, and to be the prop of his 
declining years. 

The near relatives of our departed friend claim 
and receive our tender and affectionate sympa- 
thy. May they, and the numerous Christian 
friends of the deceased, whether present or ab- 
sent, be graciously sustained under this painful 
bereavement, and bow, with humble submission, 
to the will of God. 

Friends of this church and congregation — with 
you too we heartily sympathize. You have been 
called, in divine Providence, to repeated trials. 
We bear record to your disinterested regard to 
the cause of evangelical religion in our growing 
country, in consenting to the arrangement by 
which, for a definite period, you have been 
deprived of the immediate services of your 
beloved pastor. You have hitherto had the 
consolation, and it has been one of no small 
importance, of the presence and laborious efforts 
for your good of the partner of his life. With 
what exemplary patience, with what admirable 
self-denial, she sustained the peculiar trials of 
her situation, watching around the couch of a 
dying brother, administering to the comfort of 
your late youthful pastor, adopting into her 
family the orphan and the fatherless, while her 



436 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 

best earthly friend was laboriously employed in 
the service of the church, are well known to you 
all, and ought to be suitably appreciated. How 
far she fell a sacrifice to these painful depriva- 
tions — to this uncommon self-denial, is known 
only to Him, who is best acquainted with the 
intimate connection between the body and the 
mind. That she died in your service — in the 
service of her family — and in the service of her 
God and Saviour, cannot admit of a doubt. You 
will delight, I know, to cherish her memory, 
to dwell upon her virtues, and to imitate her 
example. 

And now, my respected hearers and friends, 
it only remains, that we deposit these precious 
relics in yonder receptacle of the dead ! there to 
rest, till the trump of the archangel awake the 
sleeping dust. Then, when the millions of the 
dead shall burst the cerements of the grave, we 
doubt not that the bright form of our departed 
friend, arrayed in immortal youth and vigor, will 
ascend to meet the Lord in the air, and enter 
with him into his glory. 




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